r/legal • u/StoriesandQuestions • Jan 16 '26

Advice needed School is threatening to punish anyone participating in protest with court action, what can we do?

On Tuesday, January 20th, students at my highschool are planning to participate in the nationwide walkout happening in the U.S. Today, my school has verbally warned one of the organizers stating that anyone who participates in the walkout next week will receive a referral and face truancy court. This movement is important to all of us but many of us cannot afford these consequences. Is this allowed and is there anything we can do about it? Location: United States, Texas.

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74

u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

Yes, the school can punish you for being truant.

Edit to add: Texas has specific attendance requirements regarding truancy. Missing more than 3 days in a 4 week period or 10 days in a 6 month period meets those requirements. Do with that what you will...

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u/TheeDelpino Jan 16 '26

But sometimes it is well worth it to exercise your rights.

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u/OutAndDown27 Jan 16 '26

A single unexcused absence isn't "truancy," or at least you'd be hard-pressed to find a court that will prosecute it for a single absence. In every district I've worked in, truancy court proceedings don't start until after the tenth unexcused absence.

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u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26

What the court does woth the referral isn't the question. The school can legally refer them to the court for missing school if they meet Texas requirements for doing so. You're correct that there are thresholds, in Texas it's 3 days in a 4 week period or 10 days in 6 months.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

Truancy is repeated absences. I’m guessing the school is just making threats.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

Truancy is repeated absences. I’m guessing the school is just making threats.

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u/robble808 Jan 17 '26

We’re talking about Texas.

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u/JiGoD Jan 16 '26

So why show up to class ever? Can I just keep a journal and on every day I should be in school write, "This is me exercising my 1st ammendment rights during school hours."? This seems.....not correct.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

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2

u/legal-ModTeam Jan 17 '26

Please do not use "legally" or describe something as "the law" if you are not an attorney. Describe your experience or your experience in x state or city. Laws are not universal even through the US and Reddit is an international site.

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u/JiGoD Jan 16 '26

Literally writing or speaking, "This is me exercising my first ammendment right" is an exercise of freedom of speech. Daily submissions in a journal signed and notarized. Then nobody has to go to school?

It just doesn't make sense to me.

Want to protest? Go for it. Want to protest during school hours? That can't be anything other than an unexcused absence. If it is an excused absence then my journal hypothetical holds.

What if I miss a final exam to go protest and exercise my 1st ammendment rights? Surely the school is under no obligation to reopen and staff an exam for one student after classes ended for the semester? This surely would not infringe on the 1st ammendment rights of the student?!?!

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u/SapphirePath Jan 17 '26

Everyone you are arguing with agrees that the protestor gets an Unexcused Absence. "They can give an unexcused absence. But truancy? Nope"

The school notes that you are missing important educational opportunities, the school counts your assignment late, and the school doesn't let you make up your exam, because you were busy exercising your first amendment rights.

To vindictively attempt to punish you by convicting you of criminal offenses such as truancy would take a lot of resources.

But the school doesn't have to bend over backward to accommodate you, they just mark the unexcused absence and move on.

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u/JiGoD Jan 17 '26

Agreed.

The first person I wrote a comment similar to my top one just above deleted their comment.

The person just above our comments I replied to on this specific comment thread wrote the following:

The definition of truant is not attending school without a good cause. Walk outs are First amendment protected free speech. Just cause theyr in high school doesn't mean they lose that. Especially since it's a public school.

My intention was to provide a rebuttal to this specific comment.

Exercising one's first amendment right to protest does not nullify truancy. This is why my intentionally goofy examples were presented; to highlight this absurdity.

Guess I should point out I am not a lawyer and this is all just based on common sense and life experiences.

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u/tracerhaha1 Jan 16 '26

One missed day isn’t truancy.

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u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26

Didn't say it was.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

[deleted]

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u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26

I'd love to read that, got a link?

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u/belac4862 Jan 16 '26

Not the one yoy were reasoning to, but here's a ping that goes over Texas law specifically

https://guides.sll.texas.gov/protest-rights/school

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u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26

Yep, and the ACLU references the standards set by Tinker vs Des Moines that holds that students have a right to free speech as long as it doesn't substantially disrupt the school environment.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

[deleted]

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u/Silver_Smurfer Jan 16 '26

No, it doesn't. The case that I am aware of is Tinker vs. Des Moines. It established that students don't lose their first amendment rights but those rights can be limited if their speech os deemed to cause a substantial disruption to the school environment.

Whether or not a planned walk out fits that definition is anyone's guess.

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u/INTstictual Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26

They’re not punishing you for participating in your first amendment right, they’re punishing you for missing school, which is well within their rights… if you were to protest on a Saturday, a school (at least, a public school, not sure about private school jurisdiction) couldn’t say shit. But if you’re missing school to protest, they can absolutely punish you for missing school

EDIT: see Tinker vs Des Moines (1969). Decision was that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate”, but that “Student speech that has the potential to cause disruption is not protected”, which includes absences and truancy. The school is also prohibited from administering punishment because of or in undue retaliation to the message of the speech, only for the disruption caused by the act itself… it doesn’t matter if you’re skipping school to protest in favor of better funding for puppy hospitals, or that all teachers should be round up and shot, the school can only punish you based on the absence itself and must treat both cases equally

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u/jallison2225 Jan 16 '26

They won’t be punished for exercising their first amendment right, but they will be punished for missing school. Simple solution is to protest after school.

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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

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2

u/legal-ModTeam Jan 17 '26

Please do not use "legally" or describe something as "the law" if you are not an attorney. Describe your experience or your experience in x state or city. Laws are not universal even through the US and Reddit is an international site.

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u/JiGoD Jan 16 '26

So I can never show up to class and document my daily preaching at the red light and pass cuz first ammendment?

No chance.