Students at Saginaw Boswell High School who participated in anti-ICE walkouts earlier this month and their parents are pushing back against the district after receiving two days of in school suspension as punishment.
The punishment came after the district previously said in phone calls and emails to students and their parents provided to the Star-Telegram that disciplinary action was still under consideration.
The Texas Education Agency previously advised school districts to treat ICE walkouts like unexcused absences. But students and their parents say two days of suspension is “over the top” for skipping class and violates TEA rules.
TEA explicitly prohibits schools and administration from encouraging school walkouts, but also does not allow for over-the-top punishments that are not consistent with typical punishments for skipping school.
Before the TEA guidance, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw officials told students and parents they could lose their prom or the ability to walk at graduation if they participated in ICE protests during school hours. But students and parents told the Star-Telegram those punishments were never handed out.
A spokesperson for Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD wrote in a statement to the Star-Telegram that each student disciplinary action is based on specific circumstances of the student’s conduct.
“While individual student discipline matters are protected by privacy law and cannot be discussed publicly, each situation is reviewed individually,” the spokesperson wrote. “Any disciplinary action taken is based on the specific circumstances of the student’s conduct and is administered in accordance with the district’s Student Code of Conduct and applicable state law.”
TEA’s guidance, which came after students at hundreds of schools across Texas held anti-ICE walkouts during school hours, says students must be marked absent if they participate in walkouts and schools also risk daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class. The agency also said that teachers who facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and possible sanctions that could include revoking their licenses.
Students at dozens of districts across DFW walked out in protests in recent weeks, but Boswell High has been caught in a firestorm after students say they felt betrayed by leadership.
Students previously said Principal Ryan Wilson gave them tips on how to stay safe during their first planned ICE walkout on Feb. 2. Video obtained by the Star-Telegram showed Wilson talking to a group of protesting students over a megaphone encouraging them to stay safe when taking a stand against something “they clearly feel passionate about.”
Boswell students organized a second anti-ICE protest on Feb. 9 at the Effie Center across the street from the school — notably after school hours and off campus grounds unlike the Feb. 2 protest.
The district sent a letter to parents in the days leading up to the second protest detailing that walking out of school during class hours would lead to disciplinary action. Those punishments included threats of losing prom or walking the stage at graduation.
Several parents of Boswell High School students told the Star-Telegram some students who walked out have received two days of in-school suspension, while others who participated have not yet heard from the school on disciplinary actions.
“It seems like they have no rhyme or reason as to which students get in trouble and which ones don’t,” a parent told the Star-Telegram, speaking on condition of anonymity because she feared retribution against her child.
Another parent of an EMS student who has yet to hear about punishment said if their child receives an in-school suspension for participating in the walkout, they would refuse the punishment and pull their child out of ISS.
Several students who received ISS and their parents told the Star-Telegram that teachers who monitored the ISS classroom told students that they “did not know what they were protesting for,” and were “just looking for a way to get out of class.”
In statements to parents during the last few weeks, EMS leaders said they encourage students to exercise their First Amendment rights, but consequences must be given if students leave school grounds during learning hours.
“Leaving school without authorization and substantially disrupting the educational environment is a violation of the student code of conduct, and the students who chose to participate could face consequences including suspension, truancy filings, and a loss of other privileges,” the district wrote in a message to parents.
This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 1:15 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Samuel O’Neal is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram covering higher education and local news in Fort Worth. He joined the team in December 2025 after previously working as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He graduated from Temple University, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school’s student paper, The Temple News.