An Anti-ICE Enforcement walkout at Arlington Heights High School sparked safety concerns after a student was pictured protesting on top of an I-30 pedestrian bridge.
Students at Arlington Heights High School walked out on February 13 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A new photo obtained by The Dallas Express shows one student walking on a safety wire atop a pedestrian bridge spanning I-30.
Meanwhile, other photos obtained by DX show students standing on the I-30 frontage roads, without sidewalks, holding Mexican flags and protest signs.
“It’s very clear by the pictures that surfaced that the district is not doing a good job of keeping students safe, when that’s happening right outside the school,” State Board of Education Member Brandon Hall told The Dallas Express.
FWISD Superintendent Karen Molinar sent a message to parents, obtained by The Dallas Express, stating that the district “respects students’ rights to express their views in appropriate ways” and that students are expected to remain in class.
“When walkouts occur, FWISD campuses follow established safety, attendance, and supervision procedures to account for students and to ensure that instruction continues for those who remain,” she wrote. “When students leave school grounds for a non-district sponsored event, the district is unable to supervise or account for them, which raises student safety concerns.”
Molinar said the district is committed to safe schools, “uninterrupted instruction,” and a calm learning environment.
She pledged to comply with Texas Education Agency (TEA) guidance and mark walkout participants with unexcused absences.
“Not following this guidance could affect attendance funding and may prompt further review by the state,” Molinar wrote. “Educators are prohibited from encouraging or facilitating student participation in political activity during the school day.”
The TEA officially took control of FWISD in September 2025, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. At the time, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath cited state law requiring a takeover when a campus receives failing ratings for five consecutive years.
In November 2025, the TEA appointed a conservator to oversee the FWISD transition. The agency is expected to appoint a new board in the coming weeks.
“Seeing that they’re using kids for their political agenda and putting them at risk during the school day, I think it can’t come soon enough,” Hall told DX.
Gov. Greg Abbott has publicly warned districts to enforce the law against protests during school hours, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. He suggested school officials could be liable for any injuries during such protests.
In early February, the State Board of Education also requested an investigation into whether school officials were supporting activism.
The Instagram profile that promoted the walkout – “Heights Impact” – links to a Change.org petition, demanding FWISD oppose ICE on campus.
A local chapter of the national group Indivisible backs the petition. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the group staged “No Kings” protests across America in June 2025. Indivisible has received funding from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
Locally, Indivisible often intervenes in elections for offices like the school board. In 2025, the group’s Fort Worth chapter targeted Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare and County Commissioners Matt Krause and Manny Ramirez online.
“Our schools are not indoctrination centers where children are mobilized as pawns for left-wing political activism,” Hall said. “They’re for education, and we need to restore order and get control back in our schools.”