Adobe Stock
Audio By Carbonatix
More and more North Texas students are walking out of classes in protest of immigration enforcement as Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) threaten districts with consequences.
On Feb. 3, TEA officials released guidance outlining penalties for teachers, schools and districts who “facilitate walkouts” after Abbott called for an investigation into Austin ISD after protests at 14 Austin ISD district campuses.
Approximately 100 Haltom City High School students walked out of classrooms around 10 a.m. the next day.
“This country was built on immigrants,” one student said at the protest, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
And on Feb. 5, more than 150 students walked out of Forney and North Forney high schools, as first reported by the Dallas Morning News. Protesters waved the flags of Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the United States, with one sign declaring “You can’t love our culture but hate our people,” the News reported. Students in Plano ISD and at Melissa High School also joined protests on Friday.
The local walkouts mirror a broader nationwide backlash against ICE enforcement actions. Three major protests have broken out in Dallas since the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Rennee Good amid an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. The most recent demonstration took place five days after Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents during a Jan. 24 confrontation.
Since the start of January, student walkouts have been organized at North Texas schools, including Trimble Technical High, Richland High, Birdville High and L.D. Bell High.
TEA guidance cautioned districts against the “facilitation of political activism” using taxpayer dollars. The agency said school systems found to be in violation of state law could potentially face state takeover. Guidance also clarified that offending students must be marked absent, which would result in districts losing state funding tied to daily attendance figures.
In correspondence sent to families, Forney ISD told parents that the district did not condone students leaving class without permission.
“Our staff cannot physically prevent a student from choosing to leave campus, but leaving during the school day for any reason without permission is considered an unexcused absence and subject to disciplinary consequences per the Texas Education Agency and our student code of conduct,” the statement reads.
Faculty and Free Speech
Rena Honea, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2260, said vague language in the state’s guidance may leave teachers uncertain of their responsibilities during walkouts.
“I think it’s a form of intimidation. I’m not sure that educators are there to facilitate, and that’s a pretty broad term,” Honea said. “What do they mean by ‘facilitate?’ If they are standing in the hallway as students are walking out, are they considering that as facilitation?”
Teachers who are determined to have facilitated walkouts risk having their licenses revoked, according to the state’s guidance. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath named Levi Fuller, a former special prosecutor in the Texas Attorney General’s office, the state’s first inspector general for educator misconduct on Wednesday. In that role, Fuller will provide guidance on disciplinary decisions, including certification sanctions and placement on the state’s do-not-hire list.
In a formal letter to Morath on Friday, the State Board of Education requested Fuller take “appropriate action” against school districts suspected of encouraging protests.
Honea’s local primarily represents Dallas ISD teachers, who she says have told her state officials are acting like “bullies” with threats of licensure revocation and other sanctions.
“Those are some pretty harsh things,” she said. “To threaten an educator’s career with their certification revocations if they think they’ve been an instigator or facilitated this type of activity… The governor and the TEA commissioner should have conversations with people before they throw out that kind of language.”
As stated in Forney ISD’s communication with families, leaving class without permission is considered a Level III offense in the student code of conduct. According to the handbook, penalties for Level III offenses include exclusion from extracurriculars, Saturday school and in-school suspension.
Adam Goldstein, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), said that while students have a right to constitutionally protected speech, that speech may not disrupt their learning environment, as the Supreme Court ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines.
“That’s as disruptive as you can get for a school. So the school does have the right under the First Amendment to take steps to either prevent or punish disruptions to the school day like that. Hence, the bittersweet nature of it (seeing walkouts), in that it’s encouraging to see students who are excited about exercising their rights,” Goldstein said. “It’s a little unfortunate they’ve chosen a way that is punishable.”
On Jan. 4, Thomas Jefferson High School students participated in a short demonstration in the school’s courtyard. As they did not leave campus, it is unclear whether or not the school or Dallas ISD will face consequences.
Goldstein said education, not threats, may offer state leaders their best chance to address the protests.
“There’s lots of things that we could be telling students to do that isn’t walking out to express these messages, that doesn’t violate a rule to express these messages, and it seems like there’s not a lot of effort being invested in that educational process.”
