North Texas students walk out of class to protest ICE

PLANO, Texas - High school students from several North Texas cities walked out of class to protest the ongoing immigration crackdown.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency warned school districts not to facilitate such protests that have also been happening in other parts of the state.

Student ICE Protests

What we know:

The protests have been happening in North Texas and around the state all week. The students say it is their way of expressing their frustration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On Wednesday, a large group of students walked out of Haltom High School in Tarrant County. Then on Thursday, dozens more walked out of Forney High School in Kaufman County.

On Friday, small groups of students carrying posters with anti-ICE messages walked out of Jasper High School in Plano and Melissa High School in Collin County. 

A larger group from Plano Senior High School marched through the neighborhood near the school. Police were on patrol to make sure everyone stayed safe.

Big picture view:

Much larger student-organized protests have taken place in Minneapolis and Chicago, where the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has been highly visible.

A protest that involved several hundred students in Buda, Texas, south of Austin, went viral after videos surfaced of an adult man pushing a teenage girl. Police arrested 45-year-old Chad Michael Watts after their investigation determined he was the primary aggressor in the argument.

The Texas Education Agency warned school districts not to facilitate these protests, saying state law does not allow school systems to support or oppose political activism that disrupts learning.

The TEA told schools to mark student protesters absent and warned that teachers can be subject to investigation if they facilitate any walkouts.

Some school districts are addressing the issue directly, sending letters to parents letting them know that walkouts will not be supported and that students could face disciplinary action in accordance with the student code of conduct.

What they're saying:

Earlier this week, Gov. Abbott argued that walkouts during school hours are not considered free speech.

"You don’t have freedom of speech to say and act any way you want to anywhere you want to any time you want. The Supreme Court has been very clear about free speech of students. And that free speech of students does not include leaving the school to go protest. And so, by a Supreme Court precedent, what they did by leaving school is not protected speech," he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union disagrees with that position.

"Government officials cannot punish students simply because they dislike their message. Students do not lose their free speech rights when they enter their schools," the ACLU said in a statement.