Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered an investigation into the Austin Independent School District after hundreds of students walked out of classes to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations last Friday.
The governor directed Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to look into the district’s involvement after students from 14 Austin ISD campuses participated in the coordinated protests. “AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” Abbott said in his announcement.
Part of a Nationwide Movement
The student walkouts weren’t limited to Austin. Hundreds of Texas public school students across the state, including those from Waco and San Antonio, joined what organizers called a “national shutdown” protesting ICE. The demonstrations came in response to the fatal shootings of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents.
Students from multiple Austin schools — including Eastside Early College High School, Kealing Middle School, Crockett High, and McCallum High — participated in the walkouts. The protests were part of a broader day of action that included business closures in some communities.
“It’s such an honor to do this because many people have been deported, and they don’t get to say anything,” Joshua Garcia, one of the student protesters, told CBS Austin on Friday.
District Response
How involved was the school district in these protests? That’s exactly what Abbott wants to determine.
Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura has emphasized that the protests were student-led and not sponsored by the district. In a statement released by the district, Segura noted that leaving campus for protests counts as an unexcused absence.
“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 stated.
The investigation comes amid growing tensions around immigration enforcement in Texas, where state and federal authorities have frequently clashed over border policies and enforcement actions. Abbott, a Republican, has been a vocal supporter of expanded immigration enforcement.
Student activism around immigration issues isn’t new to Texas schools, but the governor’s direct intervention with an investigation is an escalation that signals the politically charged nature of the protests.
For the students who walked out, the stakes felt personal. Many cited concerns about family members or community impacts from immigration enforcement actions. But for state officials, the question appears to center on whether public school resources or staff encouraged political activities during school hours.
The commissioner’s investigation is just beginning, and it remains unclear what consequences, if any, might result for the district that serves over 80,000 students in one of Texas’ most progressive cities.
