Texas Governor Greg Abbott has escalated his response to student-led protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, warning that students who walk out of class could face arrest and that school districts permitting such demonstrations risk losing state funding.
The threat, reinforced this week by formal guidance from the Texas Education Agency, follows a series of walkouts across Central Texas in which students protested federal immigration enforcement and recent deaths linked to ICE operations. State officials framed the demonstrations as unlawful disruptions of instructional time rather than protected political expression.
On Feb. 3, the Texas Education Agency issued statewide guidance directing school districts to treat political walkouts during school hours as unexcused absences, warning that districts could lose daily attendance funding if they allow or facilitate such activity. The agency said teachers who assist or encourage walkouts could face investigation under the Educator Code of Ethics, including potential license revocation.
The guidance also warned that districts found to be facilitating protests could face state intervention, including the appointment of a monitor, conservator, or board of managers-steps that would effectively place schools under state control. The agency cited state law prohibiting schools from supporting political activism that disrupts classroom instruction.
Abbott amplified the policy through social media, signaling a more punitive posture. Reacting to reports of arrests during a student walkout in Kyle, Texas, the governor wrote: "It's about time students like this were arrested... Schools and staff who allow this behaviour should be treated as co-conspirators." He added that the state was "looking into stripping the funding of schools that abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law."
The remarks followed protests in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, where police confirmed that two juveniles were arrested during a walkout. Authorities said the arrests were not for protesting but stemmed from alleged alcohol possession and resistance during police interaction. One juvenile was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, and alcohol-related offenses.
In a separate incident in Buda, Texas, video footage showed an adult confronting student protesters, prompting intervention by students. Police later arrested the man, charging him with assault. Local officials said the investigation was unrelated to the students' protest activity itself.
School administrators responded by warning students that future walkouts would result in absences and disciplinary action. Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright said the district would not condone walkouts during instructional hours and would enforce attendance rules.
Civil-rights advocates argue the state's response risks infringing on students' constitutional rights. The Supreme Court's 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District held that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," though schools retain authority to maintain order.
State Representative Erin Zwiener, whose district includes Kyle, criticized the governor's approach, writing that Abbott's "threats to schools are only making protests less safe for students & more disruptive for Texas communities."
