Texas Gov Threatens to Arrest Students and Strip Funding From Schools That Protest Against ICE

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an unprecedented threat to pursue criminal charges against students participating in anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests and to strip public school funding from districts that permit such walkouts.

This directive has already prompted new guidance from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) outlining punitive measures for students, teachers, and school districts involved in protest activity.

The governor's move follows a wave of student-organised demonstrations in Central Texas and other areas, where hundreds of pupils walked out of classrooms to protest federal immigration enforcement actions, including recent killings by ICE agents that have sparked nationwide demonstrations.

Abbott's Directive and Official State Guidance

On 3 February 2026, the Texas Education Agency issued formal guidance to school systems regarding political walkouts following Abbott's directive to investigate 'inappropriate political activism' that was disrupting classroom instruction.

The TEA press release states that students who leave class for political walkouts must be marked absent, and that districts risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage such absences.

Additionally, the guidance states that teachers who facilitate walkouts may be investigated and have their licenses revoked under the Educator Code of Ethics. It also emphasised that school systems that 'facilitate' walkouts could be investigated and sanctioned, including by appointing a monitor, conservator, or board of managers—effectively allowing for state intervention or takeover.

The TEA's guidance further emphasises that state law 'prohibits school systems from supporting or opposing any forms of political activism that disrupt learning during the school day' and underscores schools' obligation to ensure student safety and attendance.

Abbott's directive and the resulting guidance constitute an aggressive exercise of administrative authority intended to curb student activism during instructional time.

The Governor's Public Statements

Governor Abbott amplified his policy stance via social media, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), where he endorsed the arrest of protesters and signalled financial consequences for schools.

In a post reacting to local reporting on arrests made during a walkout in Kyle, Texas, Abbott wrote: 'It's about time students like this were arrested... Schools and staff who allow this behaviour should be treated as co-conspirators.'

He also stated that the state was 'looking into stripping the funding of schools that abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law.'

This characterisation framed walkouts not only as disciplinary issues but also as potential legal violations by students and as complicity by schools.

Local Incidents and Law Enforcement

The governor's rhetoric followed prominent incidents at student protests in Central Texas.

In one case, the Kyle Police Department confirmed that two juveniles were arrested during a student walkout in the Hays Consolidated Independent School District (Hays CISD); one was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, and alcohol-related offences, and the other was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duties. Police officials clarified that the arrests were unrelated to the protest itself, with alcohol possession cited as the precipitating factor.

Separately, video footage from a protest in Buda, Texas, showed an altercation between a 45-year-old man and high school students protesting ICE in which students intervened as the adult confronted a minor. Local authorities have investigated the incident, and the man was later arrested and charged with assault.

School officials, including Hays CISD Superintendent Eric Wright, responded to these events by warning that future walkouts would not be condoned and that participating students would be marked absent or face disciplinary action under district policy.

Legal and Civil-Rights Debate

Advocates have raised concerns about the implications of Abbott's orders and TEA guidance for constitutional rights. Under Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the US Supreme Court held that students do not 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,' though this right is balanced against maintaining educational order.

Some civil liberties organisations caution that penalising students and schools for political expression, especially off-campus activity, could chill First Amendment rights. Others argue that school attendance and instructional time obligations allow for administrative regulation of walkouts, particularly during school hours.

Texas House Representative Erin Zwiener, whose district includes Kyle, criticised the governor's focus in a social media post, stating that Abbott's 'threats to schools are only making protests less safe for students & more disruptive for Texas communities.'

As Abbott and the TEA pursue enforcement of the new guidance, it remains likely that legal challenges or legislative responses could emerge.

Originally published on IBTimes UK