Penn Hills School District officials addressed social media rumors and said no Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were at any of its schools on Thursday.
The message is in response to a TikTok video of a woman claiming ICE was at the high school.
Superintendent John Mozzocio said the video was discovered Thursday afternoon and the district took swift action to refute the claim .
Emails were sent to parents. The principal also sent out a robo call, and messages were released on all district platforms.
Counselors will be on site Friday to speak with students and staff.
“We want to ensure to the community and our students that we’re here to hear them,” the superintendent said. “If anybody has concerns, we can assist them. Families and students are unsettled.
“These claims don’t help the situation.”
School board President Erin Vecchio said ICE has not been to any school district school this year.
“All it does is cause turmoil in the school district,” Vecchio said of the reported false information. “If this would have happened, we would have notified the parents.”
She said the video may have been taken down since the district released its statements.
Mozzocio said the district did reach out to TikTok and, at last check, the video was “unavailable.”
He encouraged parents and community members to reach out to teachers and district officials about thier concerns and asks everyone to refrain from spreading misinformation.
