QUINCY, Mass. — The Quincy School Committee on Wednesday suspended its rules to adopt a policy barring immigration agents from schools without a judicial warrant. Later the same night, it told its delegate not to endorse a broader statewide resolution on the issue.

The committee directed its delegate to vote "present" at the Massachusetts Association of School Committees on a resolution called "Safe Zones," submitted by the New Bedford School Committee, according to a recording of the meeting.

Policy passed in one night

The superintendent asked the committee to vote on the policy right away rather than wait for a second meeting. He said the PROTECT Act, signed by Gov. Maura Healey on Aug. 5, required school committees to adopt such policies by Sept. 1, a deadline he called "really untenable" since the law had only just passed.

Waiting until the committee's Nov. 18 meeting could expose the district to a complaint for noncompliance, he said. The committee voted to suspend its rules and then approved the policy, both on roll-call votes.

Asked whether federal agents had ever entered a school building in Massachusetts, a district official said not in Quincy, and that the official had not heard of it happening elsewhere. Under the new law, agents need a judicial warrant, the official said, adding that judges would likely be "very reluctant to sign a warrant for a school."

District staff said bus drivers will be told not to let anyone near students, to call district leaders and to call 911 in an emergency. Administrators would then go to the stop, ask to see a warrant, and ask agents to leave if they had none.

When a committee member asked the mayor whether Quincy police would be in an awkward position, an official answered that police would follow the law: without a warrant they would not take part, and with one they would have to cooperate.

"I don't think this has happened anywhere in the country, never mind in Massachusetts," the official added. "So I don't want to be alarming people out there."

Concerns with 'Safe Zones'

The committee's delegate said the New Bedford resolution asks districts to adopt procedures like the ones Quincy had just approved. She said she expected the resolution to be heavily amended at the association's conference.

One committee member said she supported the goal but questioned three parts of the resolution. One would have districts create a "rapid response team" for children left without adult supervision because of federal enforcement. Another would minimize the presence of "unfamiliar individuals, such as non-educators, police, security personnel." The third says educators would have the academic freedom to discuss the resolution in class.

She said she would want to consult the teachers union before backing that last provision. The committee then agreed by voice vote to have its delegate vote "present."