LOL.
The Texas Education Agency on Tuesday warned school districts that they could be taken over by the state if they help facilitate students walking out of class to attend protests.
The agency released guidance after Gov. Greg Abbott directed Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate a social media post showing Austin Independent School District students participating in nationwide walkouts against the recent killings of several people by federal immigration officers. Austin school district police officers drove near some of the students during the Jan. 30 protest in downtown Austin.
In the guidance released Tuesday evening, the education agency said students, teachers or school districts participating in “inappropriate political activism” could face the following consequences:
- Students being marked absent and districts losing state funding.
- Educators being investigated and disciplined, including losing their teaching license.
- Districts facing state oversight, including the replacement of an elected school board with a board of managers.
“Today, in classrooms across Texas, tomorrow’s leaders are learning the foundational, critical thinking skills and knowledge necessary for lifelong learning, serving as the bedrock for the future success of our state and nation,” the TEA’s press release said. “It is in this spirit that school systems have been reminded of their duty and obligation to ensure that their students are both safe and that they attend school, with consequences for students for unexcused absences.”
State law grants Morath authority to conduct special investigations into school districts as he determines necessary. Based on the results of those investigations, the commissioner could lower the district’s accreditation status or accountability rating. He could appoint an individual to monitor the district. He could also replace its elected school board.
Districts that experienced walkouts at their schools on Friday and Monday have maintained they did not endorse or enable the protests and that participating students would receive unexcused absences. Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said in a statement Monday that district staff could not physically prevent students from leaving campus, and that school resource officers remained with students nearby for their safety.
“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 said. “That is why our administrators and Austin ISD Police remain with our students during protest activities during school hours.”
Boy, nothing projects an image of strength and confidence quite like yelling at school kids. I mean, we have to take this seriously because these guys love to give themselves power and then use it. But for now, the best thing to do is point and laugh, because this is ridiculous, and ridicule is what it deserves. You think Greg Abbott would have freaked out like this if Leigh Wambsganss had won a nice, easy runoff in SD09? I don’t. The Chron has more.
(Also, too, this sure seems to me to get close to some First Amendment stuff. If there’s some follow-through on this threat, I sure hope someone sues them again.)
News report:
“A man in Texas is charged with assault for allegedly starting a physical altercation involving a high school girl…The situation was caught on video, taken by a student who attends Moe & Gene Johnson High School in Buda.”
“Buda police announced 45-year-old Chad Michael Watts from Kyle was arrested in connection with the fight. Investigators say he was the primary aggressor and is being charged with two counts of assault causing bodily injury.”
Austin ISD response:
“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 said. “That is why our administrators and Austin ISD Police remain with our students during protest activities during school hours.”
TEA response:
We’re going to decertify teachers and replace the superintendent and elected school board because, students exercised their 1st amendment rights and used cell phones during school hours.
There is something that is working under the surface on all of these issues. These cases will not go up through the Third Court of Appeals in Austin when they are appealed by the school districts. They’re going to go through the 15th Court of Appeals. A court which is now filled with Abbott appointees.
A lot of people, including more than a few Democratic candidates, don’t seem to understand the implications of the jurisdiction of the 15th Court of Appeals. It is not going to be primarily a business court. It is going to be a court primarily handling appeals by and against the state of Texas. It is going to be the third most important court in the State of Texas very quickly..
This is not a joking matter. They aren’t coming after the students. They are coming after the adults. I work at Austin Crockett, which is one of the schools that had a walkout with lots of news and social media video footage. The district is running scared and just issued a new set of policies around protests. The threat to our livelihoods is real, and unfortunately SCOTUS has a long history (well before this court) of denying constitutional rights to students. So our role of protecting the students may well get us fired and/or our school district taken over.
Ps – Woah, your snippets are not all in context. Buda Johnson is not part of Austin ISD.