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<\/p>\nNews Brief<\/p>\n
Thursday, February 12, 2026 \u2014 8:47 am<\/p>\n
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Ten Fresno County superintendents over the weekend urged students to end walkouts, according to a joint letter, also signed by the county superintendent.<\/p>\n
Since January, California students, including those in schools across Fresno County, have joined nationwide protests<\/a> against recent killings by immigration enforcement officers.<\/p>\n Immigration authorities have conducted highly publicized raids in Minnesota recently, sparking the anti-ICE protests, but Los Angeles, the Central Valley<\/a> and many other California communities have also been targets of raids.<\/p>\n Respecting students\u2019 free speech and expression, superintendents wrote that their safety and learning are jeopardized when they leave campus without permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs superintendents across Fresno County, we are writing together to address recent student walkouts and to ask for your partnership in ensuring student safety and continued engagement in learning during the school day,\u201d the superintendents of Central, Clovis, Fresno, Golden Plains, Kerman, Parlier, Sanger, Selma, Washington and Westside Elementary school districts said in the letter addressed to students and parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n The school leaders asked that parents take time to talk with students about the importance of being in class and to remind them of the safety risks of leaving campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even so, hundreds of Clovis Unified students, saying they \u201cwaited too long to get involved,\u201d walked out Tuesday, the Fresno Bee reported<\/a>. Students from at least 15 middle and high schools in Fresno Unified also protested Tuesday, Fresnoland reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The walkouts followed weeks of similar protests among students at several Central Valley schools, including in Fresno Unified<\/a>, Madera and Merced. Students in the Fresno area have marched downtown to City Hall and near the ICE office.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStudents who are off campus during the school day are without supervision and at risk of accident or injury,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n Fresno Unified school officials had accompanied students on some walkouts to ensure their safety, which the district said staff would no longer do as of last week. During some walkouts, there have been reports of students pouring into the streets, instead of walking on the sidewalk, and throwing items at a building. Fresno Police Department Chief Mindy Casto, in partnership with Superintendent Misty Her, also shared a joint message to families about student safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also heard that some students are being approached online by adults outside the school community to organize protests, further increasing safety risks,\u201d according to the superintendents\u2019 letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n As an alternative to walking out, districts have encouraged students to use on-campus spaces to safely express their opinions during the school day. <\/p>\n More News Briefs <\/p>\n \n Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:43 am <\/p>\n Redlands school board proposes principal approval for library books<\/a><\/p>\n \n Thursday, February 12, 2026, 10:25 am <\/p>\n Clovis police to charge parents who allegedly aided student ICE protest<\/a><\/p>\n \n Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 12:20 pm <\/p>\n Moorpark College\u2019s cyberdefense bachelor\u2019s degree program approved<\/a><\/p>\n \n Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 8:50 am <\/p>\n