Columbus teacher placed on leave for organizing student anti-ICE protest, with students facing discipline

While a teacher at Columbus City Schools’ Independence High School is being placed on leave for organizing an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest during school hours, and the students who participated in the protest are being disciplined, students and school officials from the Cleveland-area school are continuing their anti-ICE activity.

The teacher was placed on leave while the district investigates her actions during a Feb. 20 anti-ICE protest, in which she was accused of encouraging students to participate in and then leading the protest.

The Columbus Dispatch obtained the records but refused to reveal the teacher’s identity until the district decides whether the teacher is guilty.

Mike Brown, a Columbus City Schools spokesperson, told The Columbus Dispatch that the school allowed students to stage a walkout protest at the end of the school day as long as they left the school through the main doorway, but instead, the students chose to leave the school building in the middle of the day through emergency exits.

The records obtained by the Columbus newspaper indicated that the teacher encouraged students to violate agreements and overall school rules, with one of the school’s videos showing the teacher leading students out of the school, and many students saying that she told them to “go protest and be loud but be respectful.”

The school administrators said the walkout caused “panic,” which, in turn, almost led to a fight, with Brown adding that the students who left the school without permission can be investigated and punished in various ways, such as the school contacting the parents, conducting an intervention meeting, or putting a student in detention.

“Those Independence students found to have breached security in this incident have now been issued discipline,” Brown said.

Brown reaffirmed to The Columbus Dispatch that CCS teachers and staff respect students’ rights to protest whatever or whoever they want, but said that students need to follow school rules and prioritize their education.

“Students have rights to protest and speech, but they also have a responsibility to be in class and not be disruptive to other classes,” Brown said.

Meanwhile, some students at Elyria High School in the Cleveland area held a walkout protest on Wednesday, according to News 5 Cleveland.

Even though the main goal of the walkout was to protest the alleged underfunding of the schools in the Elyria City School District, many students admitted that they also protested the ICE agents conducting their raids.

Even though the news source reported that the staff of Elyria High School and the school resource officer supervised the walkout, the school district said in its statement that “the walkout was entirely student-led” and that “it has not been organized, directed, or sponsored by school staff or the district.”

“The student leaders involved have been thoughtful and respectful in their planning and have proactively communicated their intentions,” the district said, according to the Cleveland television station. “We respect the thoughtful, collaborative way the students have approached the school administration about their plans, and how they’ve worked to follow school rules.”

The district also said in the statement that the walkout “took place during an extended homeroom period that is already part of the regular school schedule,” adding that the protest was “brief, and students returned to class immediately afterward.”

“Participation was voluntary, and extended homeroom continued as scheduled for students who chose to remain inside,” the district said.