Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating Dallas ISD and two other school districts where students walked out of class this month to protest federal immigration policy.
In a news release issued Monday, Paxton alleges that officials in Dallas, Manor and North East ISDs didn’t take enough action to prevent the walkouts. Those three districts join Austin ISD, which became the target of a similar investigation after a student walkout last month.
The announcement represents the latest salvo in a battle between student activists who are calling for an end to aggressive immigration enforcement and state leaders who are looking to curb the walkouts.
As a part of the investigation, Paxton is demanding that the three districts produce records showing policies allowing students to leave campus during the school day, unexcused absence policies and any internal communication about the walkouts.
The Education Lab
“I will not allow Texas schools to become breeding grounds for the radical Left’s open borders agenda,” Paxton said in the news release. “Let this serve as a warning to any public school official or employee who unlawfully facilitates student participation in protests targeting our heroic law enforcement officers: my office will use every legal tool available to hold you accountable.”
Related
Thousands of students in districts across Texas have walked out of school over the past few weeks to protest ICE activity. On Feb. 10, students at several Dallas ISD campuses, including Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center and W.T. White High Schools staged walkouts during their lunch hours.
At Townview, students rallied in front of the building, holding anti-ICE banners and chanting. At Booker T., students marched to nearby Klyde Warren Park and held a demonstration there. Students at other campuses in the district staged similar protests later in the week.
Those demonstrations came after both Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath threatened to crack down on school districts where walkouts take place. On Feb. 3, Texas Education Agency officials released new guidance advising school leaders that districts that “facilitated” walkouts could come under investigation, potentially resulting in a state takeover. The agency offered little clarity on what actions it views as facilitation of a walkout. TEA officials also reminded school leaders that students who walk out of school must be given unexcused absences, which could affect districts’ attendance-based funding.
During a news conference later that week, Abbott reiterated that there would be consequences for students who walked out.
“The Supreme Court has been very clear about free speech of students,” Abbott said. “And that free speech of students does not include leaving the school.”
Related
In an email to parents sent the day before last week’s walkouts, Dallas ISD officials reiterated TEA’s guidance. The message included no consequences imposed by the district or information about any anticipated walkouts.
Officials with Dallas ISD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In an emailed statement, officials in Manor ISD, which is located just northeast of Austin, said they were confident Paxton’s investigation would turn up no wrongdoing.
“Manor ISD is aware of the Attorney General’s announcement regarding an investigation related to student walkouts that occurred on our campuses and is confident the review will show that staff followed district procedures and Texas Education Agency guidance, including ensuring attendance guidelines were followed and keeping student safety as the top priority during the days the walkouts occurred,” Manor ISD officials said.
In an emailed statement, officials in North East ISD, which is located in San Antonio, said Paxton’s investigation is centered mainly on Churchill High School. The district is complying with the attorney general’s request, and turning over documents about other campuses, as well.
In the days before the walkout, North East ISD officials reminded teachers and staff that their role was to remain professionally neutral regarding the walkouts and not to encourage or discourage student participation.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.