State officials are demanding explanations from the Austin Independent School District after the student walkout last Friday in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Soon after reports were made that students had been allowed to leave class and join anti-ICE protests at the Texas Capitol while receiving a police escort, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to investigate the situation.
“AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” posted Abbott on Friday evening. “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton has also opened a separate investigation and is demanding information from the district on security protocols and policies that allow students to leave campus.
Paxton says he will also investigate internal communications regarding the situation, records of public funds used, and possible violations of law.
“Parents expect our public schools to educate and keep their kids safe during the school day, not encourage them to attend a protest field trip designed to villainize brave law enforcement officials protecting our country,” said Paxton. “These AISD officials are trying to impose their radical political agenda on the next generation by not only allowing them to skip class to protest lawful immigration enforcement activities, but worse yet—use tax dollars to do so.”
Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura told district parents that although walkouts did take place across 14 of the district’s campuses, the event was not school sponsored or endorsed.
Segura assured parents that the district is committed to the safety of the students while they are at school and that is the reason why school administrators and Austin ISD police accompanied the students on the walkout.
Parents were also told that school staff cannot physically keep students from leaving midday to participate in a protest and such acts are considered inexcusable absences.
The protest, which occurred last Friday, was a result of a call for “no work, no school, no shopping” strikes and was carried out throughout the U.S. in opposition of current ICE enforcement operations. School districts in several states, including Arizona and Colorado, canceled classes beforehand in anticipation of the event.
