When Erika Franklin went to pick up her daughter from school on Jan. 30, she was stunned to see hundreds of students outside Olympic Middle School in Auburn, Washington—and to hear many of them screaming obscenities about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Franklin, 39, said she was aghast that this political activism and unruly behavior were happening while students should be in classrooms, being educated.

She scanned the crowd, looking for her 13-year-old daughter. Franklin worried that her seventh grader was caught up in the commotion, which included blocking traffic.

“My heart immediately just caught fire, and my stomach hurt,” Franklin told The Epoch Times on Feb. 4.

Franklin said her daughter had remained in class, but the teen appeared confused and afraid over the protest.

Social media users widely shared a video Franklin recorded of the protest and her reaction.

“I’m pulling my child from school today,” she says in the video.

Later in the video, Franklin tells school staff: “This is unbelievable. I can’t believe my kid is in this environment right now; I’m blown away. ... I’m embarrassed as a parent and as an adult.”

In a separate video, Franklin tearfully apologizes to her daughter for the stressful situation and vows to transfer the teen to another school.

Similar scenes have been unfolding at schools across the nation in recent weeks.

The wave of anti-ICE protests began with adults and spread to schoolchildren after two confrontations with ICE and other federal immigration agents turned deadly in Minnesota in January.

School walkouts raise important questions about competing interests: child safety, parental rights, children’s rights, and schools’ responsibilities. Some of the walkouts have already resulted in violence and vandalism.

School Involvement

Many schools, in public statements, assert that they cannot infringe upon students’ free-speech rights.

Some parents disagree, saying those rights aren’t absolute. A 1969 Supreme Court ruling is on their side.

The court ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District that “schools may limit student speech when it ’materially or substantially [interferes]' with a school’s operations and its central mission, teaching students,” according to The National Constitution Center.

Even as Texas officials warned on Feb. 3 that the state will enforce penalties against students, schools, and staff for walkouts, protests have continued there.

Other states appear to be allowing the protests to continue. That worries parents such as Franklin.

“There are going to be more lives lost, and it’s going to be very tragic if they don’t stop,” she said. “If you can’t respect law enforcement and you want to be out there protesting, then you should know what you’re signing up for.”

Franklin said that “children, schools, and churches are off-limits” to political protests, with “zero excuses.”

She lives 1,660 miles away from Minneapolis, the recent epicenter of ICE resistance. There, Minnesotans’ “progressive values” clash with the values of President Donald Trump and his immigration-enforcement stance, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told The Atlantic recently.

Yet even in Forney, Texas—which parent Brandie Jones called “a very red city,” filled with political conservatives—about 200 students walked out of North Forney High School on Feb. 5.

As a helicopter flew overhead and police cars lined the route, many held Mexican flags and posters with slogans such as “No One’s Illegal on Stolen Land” and at times chanted obscenities about ICE.

Jones, who came to support the walkout, told The Epoch Times she believes the students’ voices should be heard.

However, she said she knows of many Forney parents who complained that students need to be in school, focusing on their studies.

Jones said, “This small 30 minutes is not going to disrupt your education.”

Two Forney protesters told The Epoch Times that they genuinely oppose ICE. Franklin and others have raised concerns that adults are encouraging schoolchildren to become activists for a cause that many are too young to understand.

Undesirable Outcomes

Some critics also warn that school districts are violating parents’ trust—and school officials could face legal liability if protests turn violent, if children get into trouble, or if they get hurt while unsupervised.

Several such outcomes have already occurred.

In Texas, authorities are investigating a violent incident in Austin. A video shows a public school student resisting arrest after about 500 students left Hays Consolidated Independent School District to protest ICE on Feb. 2.

In Utah, Salt Lake City police said they arrested four people “for blocking a roadway and refusing to comply with lawful dispersal orders” during a Jan. 30 walkout. Police did not make clear whether any of the people arrested were students, although local news reported that many schoolchildren participated. The police department also thanked those who remained peaceful and lawful.

In Nebraska, a vehicle struck a Fremont school student during a Jan. 29 walkout, prompting legal scholar Jonathan Turley to comment on X, “This could lead to an interesting lawsuit as schools play direct roles in fueling protests.”

Turley cited a TV report in which the girl’s mother said she was upset that her daughter was allowed to go off campus and was given time to make a protest poster during class time.

Later, Omaha TV station WOWT reported that five juveniles and an adult were cited in connection with the incident.

In response to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, Fremont Public Schools provided news releases confirming the incident occurred and describing actions the district took.

“Staff were present throughout the situation to help monitor student activity and to encourage safe, peaceful behavior,” the district said, adding, “While we respect students’ rights to express their views through peaceful demonstration, safety remains paramount. The district continues to work closely with school staff, first responders, and community partners to review the event and identify any steps that may help prevent harm in the future.”

Further, the district said, “Students who chose to participate in the walkout were marked with an unverified absence and parents were notified.”

Across the nation, many school districts issued statements similar to one from Frankton-Lapel Community Schools in central Indiana.

Superintendent Sterling Boles sent a message to parents and staff on Feb. 3, saying that the district “respects students’ First Amendment rights to free expression.”

“While we do not endorse or sponsor walkouts, we recognize the importance of civic engagement,” he wrote.

The school said that student safety in an “environment focused on learning” is the district’s priority. The letter also stated that the schools would “strongly discourage” students from leaving campus.

However, staff will be present to “monitor any student activity and ensure a peaceful, safe environment,” Boles wrote.

Politics, Free Speech Intersect

Issues promise to persist as protest networks prepare to expand, according to Rhyen Staley, director of research for Defending Education. The nonprofit aims to reestablish “a quality, non-political education for all students,” according to its website.

Children as young as kindergarten age participated in some of the walkouts, Staley told The Epoch Times.

“They shouldn’t be a political prop,” he said. “I mean, that’s exactly what they’re being used as.”

Many of the children are likely just looking for an excuse to get out of school for a day, according to Staley, a father of two middle-schoolers.

In some cases, schoolchildren may be manipulated by adults who are “coming in from the outside and working with minors to train them up to go on the street and agitate,” Staley said.

Staley found evidence suggesting that left-leaning groups appear to be encouraging, organizing, or even training students in K–12 in Minnesota’s Twin Cities to oppose ICE.

In a report released on Jan. 23, Staley said that the activist group Sunrise Movement appeared to be tied to student action plans in Minnesota.

Sunrise did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. But the group’s social media posts reflect support for the walkouts.

“Administrators and MAGA extremists and politicians tried to scare us out of taking action, but our generation is not backing down,” Sunrise Movement wrote on X.

Staley’s research also reveals that other groups—such as teachers unions and associations—are connected to public school protests nationwide, he said.

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA), appeared in a Sunrise Movement video two days before the Jan. 30 “National Day of Action” coordinated by the coalition NationalShutdown.org.

“On behalf of the education professionals who belong to the NEA ... thank you, Sunrise, for standing on the front lines in Minneapolis and in so many cities across our nation, demanding justice in all forms,” Pringle said in the video.

She accused the federal government of “warfare against the American people,” and pledged that her group’s network of 3 million members would help fight against it. Her statements were part of a presentation titled “Roadmap to Political Revolution.”

Minnesota state Rep. Pam Altendorf, a Republican who serves on the Education Finance Committee, said it troubles her that teachers unions such as Education Minnesota have been opposing ICE.

“It’s a big voice, and so a lot of the students get caught up into this,” she told The Epoch Times.

She reports hearing similar concerns from many of her constituents.

Education Minnesota, which represents 84,000 members and is part of the NEA, published a webpage featuring an anti-ICE protest photo, along with a statement that reads, “The surge of ICE agents into Minnesota in recent weeks has caused chaos and sowed fear among students, families and educators across the state.”

The webpage also advises teachers how to respond to ICE activities. On Feb. 4, Education Minnesota and two school districts sued the federal government over a policy change that allows ICE enforcement in formerly “sensitive locations,” such as school zones.

The Epoch Times was unable to find statements clarifying the union’s position on student walkouts, and the union did not respond to a request for comment.

Altendorf expressed concern over misinformation and outside agitators contributing to an “escalated state of anger and rage” in Minnesota, which spreads to schoolchildren.

Influence From Adults

Some parents, including Franklin, told The Epoch Times that they, too, see signs that adults are influencing children to participate in protests.

“From what I saw with my own eyes, staff and parents encouraged and supported and allowed all of it,” Franklin said.

However, two Texas students who spoke to The Epoch Times, both upperclassmen at North Forney High School, said they were expressing their personal beliefs.

Soren Hernandez, a 17-year-old junior who helped lead the Forney protest, said her parents supported her decision to get involved.

She held a Mexican flag that her parents gave her for the occasion, saying she is proud to be the daughter of immigrants.

“The teachers have definitely given our athletes pushback about this,” she said. “But this isn’t going to stop what is right.”

Isaiah Pacheco, an 18-year-old Forney senior, said: “We’re not trying to hurt nobody. We’re not trying to cause no chaos. We’re just trying to make our voice heard.”

He acknowledged that some parents opposed the march over safety concerns; organizers directed students to stay off the roadway, so they marched on the sidewalk or on the grass.

When asked to comment on the protests, the school district provided The Epoch Times with a statement sent to high school students’ parents a day before the walkout.

“We do not approve of students leaving class without permission under any circumstance,” the district stated.

“[However,] staff cannot physically prevent a student from choosing to leave class.”

The statement also warned that participants would be subject to student-conduct discipline.

Walkout After District Said No

A separate Texas school district issued a statement saying walkouts were “not allowed” after parents, including Kristi Jones, complained. Despite that, Jones told The Epoch Times that she witnessed a protest during school hours on Feb. 6.

That was two days after the Plano school district said it would not permit the protests, in line with statewide policy. Jones said she was contacting school officials with photos of the walkout, during which students carried “flags, bullhorns, and signs” about half an hour or more before dismissal.

The district did not respond to The Epoch Times’ messages seeking comment both before and after the Feb. 6 protest.

Earlier, Jones told The Epoch Times that a school official expressed a more permissive stance when she first expressed her concerns. The district changed its policy, she said, after she and others raised concerns about walkout plans. Jones said her recent videos on that topic were approaching 1 million views online.

In one video, Jones said she would not allow her daughter to be used as a “virtue-signaling shield.”

“These are minors we’re talking about here,” Jones says in her video, pointing out that schools are meant to act “in place of the parent” during school hours.

She also notes that student speech is limited at school, particularly when safety or instruction is affected. She asserts that a walkout jeopardizes both.

In her video, Jones, 38, urges parents to call schools and ask, “Are you allowing students to leave campus during instructional hours for political demonstrations?” Parents should then insist on receiving a direct “yes” or “no” answer, she says in her video.

A school official initially stated that students could be allowed 10 minutes to participate in a walkout, according to Jones.

“As a parent, that’s just not acceptable. ... So, what if my kid doesn’t go back to school? What if somebody snatches them up? There’s a million different things that could happen,” Jones told The Epoch Times.

She said her concerns are heightened by the fact that she and her daughter are under a protective order against a person who was harassing them.

She provided The Epoch Times with a screenshot of a districtwide message the Plano schools sent on Feb. 4.

“The District will not allow walkouts or protests during the instructional day,” it said.

That decision was based upon the Texas Education Agency’s guidance to address “the current consternation” over student protests and walkouts, according to the statement.

“State law requires school districts to ensure students are present for instruction, maintain student safety, and ensure that the learning environment is not disrupted,” the statement reads.

Thus, any walkouts will be counted as unexcused absences, and participants could face additional “disciplinary consequences” under the student conduct code.

The district encouraged parents to “stress the importance of being in class” and also asked parents to alert school officials about any “planned walkout or related activity.”

Texas schools, staff, and students face consequences for walkouts, the Texas Education Agency said in its Feb. 3 statement.

“Students must be marked as absent, and schools risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class,” the statement reads. “Teachers that facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and sanction including licensure revocation.”

In addition, unexcused absences could result in disciplinary action for schoolchildren, the agency said.

Texas’s action followed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s order to the agency to investigate alleged “inappropriate political activism deliberately disrupting the learning environment in Texas public schools,” according to the statement.

Anti-American Ideology

J. Michael Waller, a former CIA operative who now serves as director of strategy at the Center for Security Policy, said the walkouts go hand-in-hand with progressive concepts many U.S. schools have espoused for years.

He said that if young people are “given an ‘IV drip bag’ of anti-American poison since kindergarten,” that predisposes them to believe those principles and to act accordingly.

The Washington mother, Franklin, said multiple schoolchildren, including her daughter, described teachers pushing students toward leftist ideology about ICE and other topics. That’s why she viewed the protest as the last straw for her, even though her daughter didn’t participate.

In response to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, the Auburn school district released a statement that Superintendent Alan Spicciati sent to parents about the Jan. 30 protest that upset Franklin.

The school district “did not promote or sanction” the walkout. Rather, some students chose to participate in a nationwide “Day of Action” against ICE, Spicciati wrote, citing school board policy regarding freedom of speech and the right to assemble.

“Student expression is supported as long as it does not substantially disrupt the educational process or infringe upon the rights of others,” one policy states.

Another states that the district “retains the authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of assemblies to ensure safety and order.”

When the demonstration started, the school “immediately took action to ensure student safety,” the superintendent said.

Although the district’s letter provided no specifics on that point, Franklin told The Epoch Times she saw people in yellow vests—who she believed were school staff—directing traffic around the protest scene.

Assailed for Protest Opposition

She described the students behaving in ways that she found disturbing.

Some students’ signs included profanity, denouncing ICE and Trump. Others included slogans such as “Abolish ICE.”

“I heard one of the kids say, ‘If you want to shoot somebody, shoot me,’” Franklin said.

She said she believes that the protesters could tell that she was not in favor of their actions. She said that as she headed into the school to look for her daughter, they were cursing at her.

School officials marked “unexcused” absences for the students who participated, according to the statement.

Despite Franklin’s distress over the protest, she said it was a “blessing” because it has opened new conversations with both of her children: her daughter and a 16-year-old son.

“They’re asking me questions now ... so I’m having to learn myself how to appropriately explain it to them,” she said. “And, by the grace of God, they’re understanding it ... and I’m showing them with facts, too.”

Franklin has no protest-related concerns about her son, who is in 10th grade, because he is enrolled in an online-only school program that works well for him.

To support Franklin’s wish to send her daughter to a private school, a team working with podcaster Brandi Kruse spearheaded a GiveSendGo campaign.

As of Feb. 5, the fundraiser had raised more than $13,000, exceeding the $10,000 goal to cover the cost of sending Franklin’s daughter to a Christian school affiliated with their church.

Without those funds, Franklin would have struggled to pay for the tuition, she said; she formerly worked as a cosmetologist but suffered disabling injuries in a 2015 ATV accident.

Franklin said that her conservative views draw scorn in her own community but that she has seen an outpouring of support from across the United States.

“The love and support outweigh any hate. ... I have felt alone in the worst ways. But today, I don’t feel alone any bit,” she said in a Feb. 4 interview.

Franklin said she felt relieved to know that at her new school, her daughter “is going to be the safest she could be anywhere.”

She said she remains worried about other children and that she would like to see school officials end the walkouts.

Otherwise, Franklin said, “none of these kids are safe—not one of them.”