DEKALB COUNTY, GA — The DeKalb County School Board has approved a new policy requiring law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to present a valid judicial warrant or court order before questioning or potentially removing a student from a school campus.

Eulen Jang with the Safe Space to Learn Coalition helped draft the policy and said it is an important step for students and families.

“This is incredibly important because it means that if your child attends schools within one of these four districts, no outside agency can access them without the proper legal documentation, a judicial warrant or court order, full stop,” Jang said.

Federal law allows immigration officials to access public areas of a school, including parking lots and lobbies, without a warrant, but a warrant is required to enter private areas.

DeKalb is the fourth metro Atlanta school district to approve this type of policy, joining Gwinnett County, Atlanta and Decatur City Schools.

Jang said additional work will be needed following the policy’s approval.

“This is the first step, we want to make sure that there’s best practices involved there, there’s training, all of the additional steps that need to be completed to make sure that this policy is at its best,” Jang said.

Jang said she wants families to know about the policy and hopes students feel supported at school.

“I want them to feel that they’re able to go to school and feel safe and feel like their district is listening to them and watching out for them, and protecting their rights,” Jang said.

Advocates hope other school districts across Georgia will adopt similar policies.

WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.