Students in multiple Central Texas school districts, including Hays CISD, Manor ISD, Lockhart ISD, and Pflugerville ISD, participated in walkouts on Monday to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities. The demonstrations prompted responses from state officials, including investigations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Governor Greg Abbott. School districts clarified that the walkouts were not authorized and that students would be marked absent and potentially face disciplinary action. The events occurred alongside other unrelated incidents in the Austin area, including a police standoff, traffic fatalities, and a fire.
Hundreds of students across several Central Texas school districts walked out of classes on Monday to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities, according to school district officials. The walkouts impacted at least four school districts , including Hays CISD, Manor ISD, Lockhart ISD, and Pflugerville ISD.
Reports indicate that several hundred students participated in the demonstrations across five campuses within Hays CISD, specifically at Hays High School, Live Oak Academy High School, Johnson High School, Lehman High School, and Barton Middle School. Additionally, students walked out at three campuses in Manor ISD, Lockhart High School, and all five high schools in Pflugerville ISD, according to district officials. The mass walkouts prompted responses from state officials, including an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into Austin ISD, who demanded documents relating to campus departure policies and internal communications. This follows an order from Gov. Greg Abbott, who directed the state education commissioner to investigate the situation, stating that taxpayer dollars are allocated to teach state-mandated subjects, not to facilitate student protests. None of the involved school districts authorized or endorsed the student-organized demonstrations. School officials stated that participating students would be marked absent, in accordance with attendance policies, and might face further disciplinary action for violating campus rules. The responses from school districts ranged in their approach to the walkouts. For example, Lockhart High School students left campus around 1:10 p.m. and marched along Highway 183 toward downtown Lockhart, as detailed in a letter from Principal Michael Herbin. Law enforcement agencies, including Caldwell County Constables, Emergency Management, and the Lockhart Police Department, monitored the situation. Pflugerville ISD officials reported that the majority of students who left campus congregated near the Pflugerville Justice Center, located near the Walmart on FM 685. The district also encouraged parents to contact their children directly to arrange transportation for them. In a statement, Hays CISD expressed its hope that the situation would serve as a learning opportunity for all students, irrespective of their views on the issues or whether they chose to participate in the protests, to better understand their rights, freedoms, and the responsibilities that come with them.\The walkouts took place amidst other unrelated incidents around the Austin area. Austin police SWAT teams responded to a barricaded suspect in Central Austin on Monday morning following a domestic disturbance call. The incident started around 5:00 a.m. Austin police have announced policy changes regarding cooperation with ICE officers, eliciting a wide range of reactions from the community. A cyclist tragically died after being struck by a car on State Highway 71, near the Austin airport, on Monday afternoon, as confirmed by Austin-Travis County EMS. The accident happened just before the afternoon. There was also a pedestrian fatality in downtown Austin on the I-35 service road, after a deadly crash overnight on Saturday. Police are currently without a suspect in the case. The Austin Fire Department responded to a two-alarm blaze at an abandoned apartment complex in southeast Austin on Monday morning, the call was received around 2:48 a.m. These events, distinct from the student walkouts, highlight the various public safety concerns and incidents that occurred in the Austin area on the same day as the student protests
Student Walkouts ICE Protests Texas Education Austin ISD School Districts
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