P-SHARC Resources

All children have a right to equal access to free public education, regardless of their or their parents’/guardians/ immigration or citizenship status.

All children in California:

• have the right to a free education
• must be enrolled in school if they are between 6-18 years old
• have the right to attend safe, secure, and peaceful schools
• have a right to be in a public school learning environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying, violence, and intimidation
• have equal opportunity to participate in any program or activity offered by the school without discrimination

Schools need documentation for proof of a child’s age or residency. But remember:

• schools are not required to keep a copy of the document used as proof of a child’s age
• information about citizenship/immigration status is never needed for school enrollment
• a social security number is never needed for school enrollment

Safety planning:

• you have the right to update your child’s emergency contact information, including secondary contacts, to identify a trusted adult guardian who can care for your child if you are detained or deported
• you can complete a Caregiver Authorization Affidavit to give a trusted adult the authority to make educational and medical decisions for your child if you become unable to do so

Paden’s Safe Haven Accountability and Resource Committee (P-SHARC) is a parent/caregiver-powered committee to protect and support immigrant families at Paden Elementary and in our local community.

P-SHARC helps mobilize parents/caregivers, collect and distribute resources, and educate families on safe haven policies at schools.

Formed by parents and caregivers in the aftermath of the planned surge of federal immigration agents in the Bay Area in October 2025, P-SHARC is organized around three main points of unity:

1. Defend & Protect: we believe ICE makes our communities unsafe, and resisting kidnappings and brutality against our communities is just and necessary.
2. Solidarity & Trust: we prioritize building relationships and trust within our communities over time to ensure our collective safety.
3. Coordination & Support: we choose coordination over control and support many formations sharing information and moving collectively together.

Alameda Unified School District adopted its Safe Haven Resolution in 2017, making an “unequivocal commitment to ensuring a safe educational environment for all” regardless of immigration status.

The state recently passed a similar law, called California’s Safe Haven Schools Act. The Safe Haven Schools Act reflects the importance of upholding schools as safe places for children as families face the danger of sweeping immigration enforcement. The law requires all public schools across the state to do the following:

• School officials and employees must prohibit an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a school unless there is a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or court order.
• Schools cannot disclose or provide any information about a student or that student’s family or household, teachers, or school employees to an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement unless there is a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or court order.

For more information, visit the California Department of Education page on Including Immigrant Families. They also have printable posters available.

The following organizations provide free legal services to immigrants in the Bay Area.

Visit the Alameda Free Library Community Resources page for a full list of social services.

To request assistance from All Good Living Foundation, fill out the Family Resources Intake Form.

For housing assistance, contact Alameda Housing and Human Services at 510-747-6890 or email humanservices@alamedaca.gov.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The Alameda Food Bank provides food assistance to residents of Alameda.

Prepare your family with these resources:

• Family Preparedness Plan (PDF) - A step-by-step guide to help your family create a preparedness plan.
• Preparedness Checklist (PDF) - A checklist to help ensure your family is prepared.

These resources can help parents and caregivers talk to children about immigration:

• Immigration Resources for Families - Fugees Family
• Resources for Immigrant Students and Families - Immigrants Rising / ImmSchools
• Kids and ICE Talking Points - L.A. Taco
• Britt Hawthorne - Author of Raising Antiracist Children, shares resources on social media (@britthawthorne)
• Explaining the News to Our Kids - Common Sense Media
• Struggling for Words? Tips for Talking to Kids about Immigration Enforcement - LAist
• Navigating ICE Presence in Schools: Essential Information for Families - KQED
• Talking with Children about Violence: Tips for Families and Educators - National Association of School Psychologists
• What to Say to Kids about ICE - ChildNet

If you are interested in learning more about our work, have any questions, or have any feedback about this website, please email us at: padensharc@gmail.com