The Texas Education Agency issued new guidance Tuesday warning Texas public school districts that facilitating or encouraging student walkouts during instructional hours can trigger investigations, loss of state funding, educator discipline, or state takeover of local school governance.
The guidance, released February 3, follows Governor Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate school districts where student walkouts disrupted classroom instruction. The warning applies statewide, including to districts across North Texas.
TEA Outlines Enforcement Consequences
According to the agency, students who leave class during instructional hours to participate in walkouts must be marked absent, with those absences counted as unexcused. Districts that allow or encourage such walkouts lose daily attendance-based state funding tied to those students.
Key consequences outlined by TEA include:
- Students participating in walkouts must be marked unexcused absent, resulting in loss of attendance-based funding for districts
- Certified educators who encourage, facilitate, or assist students in leaving class may be referred to the State Board for Educator Certification for investigation, with possible sanctions including license revocation
- School systems found to have facilitated or supported walkouts disrupting instruction face audits, the appointment of a monitor or conservator, or replacement of the elected school board with a board of managers
“School systems have been reminded of their duty and obligation to ensure that their students are both safe and that they attend school,” TEA stated.
State Law Limits School Involvement
TEA stressed that Texas law prohibits school districts from using taxpayer-funded resources to support or oppose activism that disrupts learning during the school day.
“State law prohibits school systems from supporting or opposing any forms of political activism that disrupts learning during the school day, including facilitation of political activism through the use of taxpayer-funded district resources,” the agency said.
If violations of state law are confirmed, TEA said it will investigate and take appropriate enforcement action, including governance intervention when warranted.
Abbott Directive Prompted Review
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Governor Greg Abbott ordered the investigation January 30 after videos circulated online showing students leaving Austin Independent School District campuses during the school day to participate in walkouts related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” Abbott wrote on X. “Our schools are for educating our children, not political indoctrination.”
Austin ISD later confirmed that students from 14 campuses participated in the walkouts, describing them as student-led and not sponsored or endorsed by the district.
Guidance Applies Statewide, Including North Texas
Although the investigation originated in Austin, the Texas Education Agency said the guidance applies to all Texas public school districts. Student walkouts were also reported January 30 at multiple Tarrant County-area campuses, including Richland High School, Haltom High School, Birdville High School, and L.D. Bell High School, according to Fort Worth Report.
TEA further noted that individuals who believe violations were not properly addressed through local grievance processes may submit complaints directly to the agency, which it said “thoroughly investigates” each submission.
The agency concluded by reiterating that Texas public schools are required to prioritize instruction and student safety during the school day, warning that walkouts and related disruptions cannot override attendance laws or the statutory obligations tied to public funding and school governance.
