Contributor
Georgia’s Cobb County School District has warned students of potential consequences for participating in walkouts in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In response to increasing raids and arrests by ICE under the Trump Administration, many students across the nation participated in coordinated walkout protests on Friday, January 30th. Controversy has only intensified over the past several weeks following the high-profile deaths of protesters Renée Good and Alex Pretti, both killed this month by ICE agents in Minneapolis, as well as Keith Porter Jr., who was killed by an off-duty ICE agent in Los Angeles on New Years’ Eve.
On Tuesday, January 27th, the Cobb County District sent a message to families about the January 30th walkout, claiming that the campaign’s ask for students to leave school “would disrupt school operations and distract students and teachers.” The statement goes on to express that while the district supports its students’ participation in “non-disruptive” civic engagement, students are expected to be in attendance and participatory during school hours.
Anyone who violates the Code of Conduct, including leaving class, skipping class, leaving authorized areas, unexcused absences, and/or disrupting the instructional day, will receive consequences in accordance with District policies. Those consequences include out-of-school suspension and the potential loss of parking privileges, sports, and extracurricular privileges. Each has long-lasting impacts that could be taken into account by college admission offices and future employers.
In response to this letter, eight Georgia legislators representing Cobb County issued an oppositional statement on January 29th: “Public schools play a critical role in preparing young people for civic life. Stifling students’ rights to engage in peaceful protest undermines that responsibility and sends the troubling message that student voices should be silenced rather than guided and respected,” the statement reads.
“… Our students deserve to see leaders respond to their concerns with dialogue-not discipline. We respectfully request that this policy be reversed and replaced with a policy of support for peaceful assembly and guidelines that foster both the academic and emotional well-being of our students, as well as, a safe space to exercise free speech,” via Lisa Campbell (@LisaforGeorgia) and Gabriel Sanchez (@SanchezforGeorgia) on Instagram.
In the wake of the legislators’ statement, Randy Scamihorn, Chair Cobb County Board of Education doubled down on the district’s original stance, standing with parents and educators who “want to just teach [their] children and leave them out of the political arena,” according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
“I think it’s sad that some of our representatives, that should set an example for all of us, are supporting disruption of school,” he said. “And that they’re misleading our young people (to believe) they have a right to disrupt a situation anytime they feel spontaneous about it, whether it’s school or anything else, that’s what they’re teaching them,” he told the Journal.
Both parents and students in Cobb County have taken issue with the district’s claims of “external groups” recruiting participants for walkouts. According to the Cobb County Courier, students who organized a protest at Wheeler High School responded to the statement in an email:
“They proclaim that ‘external groups’ are attempting to ‘recruit students’ to walk out, but these ‘groups’ consist of Wheeler’s own students, students who are worried for their community, their friends, families, and themselves…” the email read. “We are students who simply want a better future, and how will we get one if our students do not even feel safe in their own school? What is CCSD doing to protect the children of the future?”
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