The Texas Education Agency on Tuesday warned school districts that they could be taken over by the state if they help facilitate students walking out of class to attend protests.
The agency released guidance after Gov. Greg Abbott directed Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate a social media post showing Austin Independent School District students participating in nationwide walkouts against the recent killings of several people by federal immigration officers. Austin school district police officers drove near some of the students during the Jan. 30 protest in downtown Austin.
In the guidance released Tuesday evening, the education agency said students, teachers or school districts participating in “inappropriate political activism” could face the following consequences:
- Students being marked absent and districts losing state funding.
- Educators being investigated and disciplined, including losing their teaching license.
- Districts facing state oversight, including the replacement of an elected school board with a board of managers.
“Today, in classrooms across Texas, tomorrow’s leaders are learning the foundational, critical thinking skills and knowledge necessary for lifelong learning, serving as the bedrock for the future success of our state and nation,” the TEA’s press release said. “It is in this spirit that school systems have been reminded of their duty and obligation to ensure that their students are both safe and that they attend school, with consequences for students for unexcused absences.”
State law grants Morath authority to conduct special investigations into school districts as he determines necessary. Based on the results of those investigations, the commissioner could lower the district’s accreditation status or accountability rating. He could appoint an individual to monitor the district. He could also replace its elected school board.
Districts that experienced walkouts at their schools on Friday and Monday have maintained they did not endorse or enable the protests and that participating students would receive unexcused absences. Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said in a statement Monday that district staff could not physically prevent students from leaving campus, and that school resource officers remained with students nearby for their safety.
“During the school day, our students are our responsibility and we’re committed to the safety of our students in our community, regardless if they are on our campus,” Segura said. “That is why our administrators and Austin ISD Police remain with our students during protest activities during school hours.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday requested documents from Austin ISD on student leave policies and internal communications during Friday’s protest and accused district officials of encouraging students to participate.
Hundreds of students also walked out of schools Monday in Hays Consolidated Independent School District, during which two students were arrested by police and several others got into a physical altercation with a passerby. The district denied any connection to facilitating or condoning the walkouts and asserted that “future walkouts cannot happen.”
During that Monday walkout, Kyle police arrested two students for allegedly possessing alcohol and resisting arrest, according to the district’s statement. However, the Kyle Police Department said in a statement that the arrests were unrelated to the protest.
Videos of the arrest circulated online Monday, which prompted Abbott to assert in a second social media post that he was looking into ways to strip state funding from schools if they “abandon their duty” to students.
“It’s about time students like this were arrested. Harming someone is a crime — even for students,” Abbott said. “Disruptive walkouts allowed by schools lead to just this kind of chaos.”
Hays CISD also placed a teacher on administrative leave after pictures circulated online of him displaying protest signs with profanity, according to the district’s statement. The teacher was not identified, but Hays CISD officials said “he will not be returning to work” in the district.
“The school district belongs to everyone and we do not, as an entity or as employees, use taxpayer time and resources to engage in political activity,” Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright said in a statement on Tuesday.
