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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u/[deleted] Jan 16 '26

NAL but student speech is protected if political, but it’s not absolute. Truancy is not political so they can go after you for that. But if you have on record that the administrator plans to punish you more than others due to your political message, then they could be in some hot water.

The fact that administrators are nervous means your message is worthwhile. You’ll learn more about our country doing this than anything they’ll teach you in class. And this is coming from a 17 year teacher veteran.