100+ Oklahoma Students Suspended Following Anti-ICE Walkout; Governor Defends Decision

Mustang Public School suspended 122 students for staging a walkout against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month. High school students from across the state, including Mustang, are walking out of classes to protest against the agency's controversial mass deportation effort.

Gov. Kevin Stitt, applauding the move, said, "Young Oklahomans: Free speech is sacred, but truancy robs your future. Stay in school, build skills, and make your voice heard responsibly."

Mustang Public School, in a statement on February 18, said it had warned students against participating in the classroom walkout protest. However, several chose to ignore. In response, the authorities assigned in-school suspension to students for committing unexcused absence.

“No student was disciplined for the content of their speech or viewpoint,” the statement read. “Consequences were applied for leaving class and missing instruction during the school day.”

“Despite social media claims alleging adult involvement, district leadership reviewed all allegations and found no evidence that any Mustang Public Schools employee instigated, organized, or facilitated this student activity. Individuals identified in online posts as district employees were either not affiliated with Mustang Public Schools or were inaccurately represented,” the statement read.

“Student safety remains our highest priority, and our decisions were made with that responsibility in mind,” the statement read.

The walkouts have drawn criticism from some Republican legislators. Fourteen lawmakers had signed a letter to state superintendent Lindel Fields, calling for an investigation into whether students violated Oklahoma truancy laws. They also demanded that teaching licenses be revoked if educators are found involved in organizing such protests.

According to Oklahoma voice report, state superintendent Lindel Fields and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s education secretary, Dan Hamlin, said they found no evidence that school staff was aiding students to organize such protests.

Earlier in a joint statement, Fields and Hamlin said students who leave school campus without permission should be addressed according to locally adopted policies. “Our state’s public schools are legally obligated to respect students’ constitutional rights to free speech while also maintaining safe and orderly learning environments for all students,” Fields and Hamlin said.

Senate minority leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said complaints about the walkouts are “selective outrage from Republicans as they cherry-pick issues happening in our public schools.”

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said there should be investigations into whether any school staff helped facilitate the walkouts.

Senator Lonnie Paxton said, “Students shouldn’t miss school, and teachers should be disciplined if they encourage it.”

According to Oklahomavoice, the residents of the city have walked out of school as a means of protest since the 1970s.

About 400 students had walked from Northeast High School to the state capitol in Oklahoma city to advocate for a district bond issue on January 26, 1970.

In 2016, about 1000 students walked out of Oklahoma City high schools to oppose state-wide cuts to education funding.

Anti-ICE classroom walkouts have popped up around the country after two protesters were allegedly killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.