_{Thumbnail photo by James Brooks}

Uncharted Shores Academy principal Dan Cartwright has issued an apology after a staff member mistakenly sent out a notification stating that ICE agents were on its main campus.

The notification was issued at about 1:22 p.m. Wednesday through the charter school’s emergency communications system, Cartwright said in a letter sent to families and the greater Del Norte community. Once staff realized the mistake, they sent a brief followup at about 1:31 p.m. informing families that the message was sent in error.

At about 1:57 p.m., school staff sent out a final message providing more information about the incident and apologizing to families, according to Cartwright’s letter.

“To be clear, USA has never had any such request or presence from federal immigration officials,” Cartwright wrote. “It is nonetheless our responsibility to ensure that we are prepared for this possibility and that we are compliant with the law.”

The two laws Cartwright referred to are California Assembly Bill 49 — The Safe Haven Schools Act — and Senate Bill 98 — the Sending Alerts to Families In Education, or SAFE Act.

The former requires immigration enforcement officers to provide school staff with a valid ID, a judicial warrant and a clear statement of purpose before accessing school campuses.

The latter requires K12 schools, including charter schools, to notify students, parents, faculty and staff when immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 49 and SB 98 into law in September.

USA was in the process of putting together a “pre-made message” to be in compliance with SB 98, Cartwright told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. The staff member had meant to save it to have it on hand, but clicked send on accident, he said. 

“We have 300 students total and 200 who are on site most of the day,” Cartwright said. “We want to make sure we protect them and take care of them and to make sure we’re in compliance with California law.”

Most students had already left campus for the day since Wednesday was an “early-out” day when the accidental notification was sent out. But between then and Cartwright’s more thorough message explaining what had happened, the school received 10 to 15 calls from parents who were concerned, the principal said.

Cartwright said he also received a call from Del Norte County Superintendent of Schools Jeff Harris offering help. 

The principal said Uncharted Shores staff and administration will review its procedures for sending out notifications to parents to determine if there’s a second check that can be implemented.

Mistakes happen, however, Cartwright said, and in this case it had to do with a highly charged issue.

Within Del Norte Unified School District, which holds the charter for Uncharted Shores, there are policies in place to comply with state law and notify parents of ICE activity on its campuses, communications director Michael Hawkins said.

At a DNUSD school board meeting in February 2025, Harris reminded trustees of a Response to Immigration Enforcement policy officials adopted in 2018. That policy states that DNUSD staff shall not solicit or collect information or documents regarding the citizenship or immigration status of its students or their family.

It also prohibits staff from providing assistance to immigration enforcement agents “except as may be required by state and federal law.”

On Thursday, Cartwright told Redwood Voice that he appreciated Harris and Hawkins for reaching out to him. He said he appreciates knowing that they share his concerns about keeping students safe at all schools.