Austin Independent School District (AISD) has had several “ICE out” walkouts, some with hundreds of students in attendance and in solidarity. LASA participated in two.
On January 30, approximately 160 LASA students left their third periods to protest ICE activity. Most returned to campus throughout the day, but about twenty walked to the Capitol. This protest was a part of a national effort organized by several hundred organizations on their website nationalshutdown.org. Over 1000 people were at the Texas Capitol alone, several hundred of which were college or high school students. A second protest was held on February 13, with approximately 500 participants from AISD schools, 15 of whom were LASA students.
LASA sophomore June Press helped navigate the group of LASA students who marched from campus to the capital during this first walkout. When they arrived, they gathered outside of the fence surrounding the building to protest.
“We stood outside of the gates because we were worried that if we were in there, they would be able to make excuses for why we couldn’t protest there,” Press said. “And so we stood there. Anyone who walked by, we’d show them the signs. We’d try to talk to them. There were a lot of people who just joined in, which was really cool. A group of people came who started passing out signs.”
AISD outlined its policies around student walkouts in response to investigations by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) about administrators or educators allegedly encouraging these protests, emphasizing that all of their policies are in accordance with state laws. AISD continues to respect students’ right to protest by leaving school with the caveat that it is peaceful and no district resources, including paper, are used. Additionally, consequences include unexcused absences and making up missed schoolwork, but staff members cannot physically prevent a student from leaving campus.
For AISD students protesting, changes included that local police help monitor protests that leave 300 feet within the campus. This is a safety precaution and does not represent AISD endorsing or participating in walkouts, and applies to all walkouts of sufficient size.
“There was an AISD police member in a car who followed us the whole way there to make sure that we were getting there safely,” Press said. “At certain intersections, they would direct traffic so that we could all cross. Seeing police do that was really inspiring … They were just making sure that the people who were going to the Capitol could get all the way there.”
TEA declined an interview request, but pointed out two articles they posted concerning walkouts. These articles were posted during the peak of school protests in Texas. In them, the District Attendance Policies, Complaints, and Educator Responsibilities states that with news of student walkouts happening across the state and that “this guidance is a reminder that students are not free to engage in speech that disrupts the school learning environment.
Junior Avinash Hecker attended both walkouts at LASA. He suggested that walkouts do not disrupt the learning environment since they are directed off of school grounds.
“There are students that are absent all the time,” Hecker said. “Does that disrupt class? If 20 students are doing a football meet, does that count as disrupting class? … If you don’t put a major penalty on skipping other than being tardy, then you can’t really charge [protestors] for also disrupting class.”
Following the protests, TEA launched investigations into several districts, including AISD. Since February, there have been significantly fewer protests, and none have been as large.
Luzbella Diaz, a sophomore at Austin High, attended two walkouts. She has observed ICE protests losing momentum at her school.
“I think that probably the reason why is that the news has died down about it, the news about walkouts,” Diaz said.
While most interviewed felt that AISD policy is comparatively lax to some districts, the pressure from TEA led AISD to post a video asking students to stop walking out, and concerns of a district takeover similar to that seen in Houston remain high. Still, Hecker emphasized that AISD students should not back down even in the face of crackdowns.
“They’re trying to lessen our voices, and it’s kind of working,” Hecker said. “If you heard that people have been suspended, people have been accused of being terrorists, would you still protest? People would be scared, right? People of color are scared, right? And this just increases the fear.”
