The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Tuesday issued guidance warning school districts that they could face serious consequences, including state takeover, if they help facilitate student walkouts to attend political protests during school hours.
The guidance followed an order from Gov. Greg Abbott directing Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate a social media post showing students from Austin Independent School District (AISD) participating in nationwide walkouts. The protests were held in response to recent killings of several people by federal immigration officers. During the Jan. 30 protest in downtown Austin, Austin ISD police officers were seen driving near some of the students.
In guidance released Tuesday evening, the TEA said that students, teachers, or school districts involved in what it described as “inappropriate political activism” could face multiple consequences. These include students being marked absent, which could result in districts losing state funding, educators being investigated and disciplined up to and including the loss of their teaching licenses, and districts being placed under state oversight. Such oversight could involve replacing an elected school board with a board of managers.
“Today, in classrooms across Texas, tomorrow’s leaders are learning the foundational, critical thinking skills and knowledge necessary for lifelong learning, serving as the bedrock for the future success of our state and nation,” the TEA’s press release stated. “It is in this spirit that school systems have been reminded of their duty and obligation to ensure that their students are both safe and that they attend school, with consequences for students for unexcused absences.”
Under state law, Morath has the authority to conduct special investigations into school districts as he deems necessary. Based on the results of those investigations, he may lower a district’s accreditation status or accountability rating, appoint a monitor, or replace an elected school board.
School districts where walkouts occurred on Friday and Monday have said they did not endorse or enable the protests and that participating students would receive unexcused absences. Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said district staff could not physically prevent students from leaving campus and emphasized that law enforcement remained nearby to ensure student safety.
“During the school day, our students are our responsibility and we’re committed to the safety of our students in our community, regardless if they are on our campus,” Segura said. “That is why our administrators and Austin ISD Police remain with our students during protest activities during school hours.”
On Monday, Attorney General Ken Paxton requested documents from Austin ISD related to student leave policies and internal communications surrounding Friday’s protest. Paxton accused district officials of encouraging student participation.
Additional walkouts occurred Monday in Hays Consolidated Independent School District, where hundreds of students left their campuses. During that protest, two students were arrested, and several others were involved in a physical altercation with a passerby. The district denied facilitating or condoning the walkouts and stated that “future walkouts cannot happen.”
Hays CISD reported that two students were arrested for allegedly possessing alcohol and resisting arrest. However, the Kyle Police Department later said the arrests were unrelated to the protest itself.
Videos of the arrests circulated online and prompted Gov. Abbott to post again on social media, saying he was exploring ways to strip state funding from schools that fail to uphold their responsibilities.
“It’s about time students like this were arrested. Harming someone is a crime — even for students,” Abbott said. “Disruptive walkouts allowed by schools lead to just this kind of chaos.”
Hays CISD also placed a teacher on administrative leave after photos circulated online showing him holding protest signs containing profanity. District officials said the teacher, who was not identified, would not return to work in the district.
“The school district belongs to everyone and we do not, as an entity or as employees, use taxpayer time and resources to engage in political activity,” Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright said Tuesday.
