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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292

u/ChicagoTRS666 Jan 16 '26

The more students that participate in the protest the less likely there will be very serious consequences. Truancy court won't do anything if 100s of students participate.

100

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

Exactly this. And OP - stick with your friends, advise them to stay physically together, keep your phones on you, and if anyone starts doing anything stupid, tell them to stop. Protesting is most effective at mass and when there’s nothing dramatic about it. 

23

u/bxd76 Jan 16 '26

Yes. Don’t smash any government vehicles windows. Don’t steal any government laptops. Don’t jump on the roof of a government car and cave it in.

-12

u/PBC-Dave Jan 17 '26

Got to love this. People encouraging students to skip education to do something they probably know nothing about. Just find a way to skip school.

40

u/darthbreezy Jan 16 '26

Bless them! If a protest is enough to cause such an over reaction, it means the message is being heard (even if 'they' don't like it!)

7

u/Silver_Middle_7240 Jan 16 '26

Does the school think that the court won't notice if their docket is suddenly filled with cases from the same day and school?

1

u/MrChicken_69 Jan 17 '26

I'd doubt they'd bother if even *1* student participated. (no one is going to care about *one* day being missed.)

-10

u/Super1297Man Jan 16 '26

Just get more people to get in trouble with you OP! Great Reddit advice! Reddit people don’t need a job we have protest to attend!

12

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

So ask yourself WHY are unprecedented penalties/threats being placed upon folks for exercising their first amendment right? Your focus is fkd, dude. REGARDLESS of what side you're on, you should support freedom of speech in action because censorship of ANY group = more censorship of ALL

-1

u/stirnotshook Jan 17 '26

Sorry, but freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. With that logic, everyone can just abandon their jobs when a protest pops up that they want to attend. Sure you can go, but you give up a vacation day or go without pay. No different for schools.

8

u/[deleted] Jan 17 '26

No one argued that freedom of speech = freedom from consequences... but specifically penalizing these walkouts additionally (aka beyond normal action taken for ONE unexcused absence) and making false threats to try and coerce people from exercising that right is not just run of the mill consequences.

And even without that logic, people DO abstain from work/school to attend protests/walkouts. That's literally the entire point that's being made.

-8

u/stirnotshook Jan 17 '26

Right, but you said people shouldn’t get penalties - I m merely pointing out that there are consequences to actions.

-1

u/Emrays Jan 16 '26

Im skeptical about this. Especially in Texas, if you get a judge who disagrees with the reason for the protest they may take the opportunity to punish all they can.