As tens of thousands of students held walkouts to protest
anti-immigrant laws, they faced brutality from the police and
repression and punishment at their schools. Below is a telling
statement from Houston’s school superintendent threatening to punish
students for protesting.
HISD superintendent: Regarding student walkouts
March 28, 2006
It is critically important that our children are in school and learning
every day. While we respect and encourage students to express their
opinions and to involve themselves in civic and government affairs, our
students must follow the rules of conduct that require them to be in
school and learning during the school hours.
All the students
who participated in today’s walkouts will be disciplined. The parents
of each student who participated will be contacted and informed of the
student’s actions. Each student action associated with today’s events
will be reviewed by school officials, and students may, at the
discretion of the principal, be placed in detention or in-school
suspension, and may also be subject to other sanctions.
If
these demonstrations continue on Wednesday or another time in the
future, the consequence for students who violate the standards of
conduct will be more severe. A repeat of today’s demonstrations could
cause students to be suspended for up to three days, or be removed.
Our schools are working closely with our young people to encourage them
to find the right ways to express their feelings on these issues. Some
schools are assigning students to write papers about the proposed
legislation. Others are holding group meetings with students to talk
about the issue. We want our students voices on these issues to be
heard. But it is vitally important, for their own safety and their
academic standing, that students be in school and learning during the
school day, and that they follow the standards of conduct. Failure to
follow these standards could result in a student not being able to
graduate on time, or having difficulty getting into college and
succeeding there.
We urge the parents of HISD’s students to
talk with their children about these issues and to make sure their
children stay in school every day.