WASHINGTON — Educational activities took an unexpected pause.
An Arizona school district is facing criticism for permitting a large number of students to skip classes to join an anti-ICE demonstration, reportedly without informing parents or obtaining their consent for their children to leave school premises for a politically charged event.
America First Legal, a conservative non-profit organization, accuses the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) of infringing on parental rights. The group has submitted a public records request, urging the release of all documents related to the organization and execution of the student walkout.
In late January, educational sessions were shortened at four middle and high schools within FUSD, allowing approximately 800 students to convene near Flagstaff’s city hall to protest against ICE. School staff members were even present to accompany the students.
Several parents have expressed concerns, claiming they were not informed or asked to consent to their children leaving school during class hours to take part in the protest.
Following the event, FUSD issued a statement indicating that attendance was recorded during each class period during the anti-ICE protest, and standard procedures were applied if a student was absent, according to a complaint filed by America First Legal, which advocates for conservative principles.
“FUSD provided no information regarding when it first learned of the protest, how it formulated its response plan, or what consequences students faced for leaving class and school grounds without permission.”
A spokesperson for FUSD told The Post that its “schools remained open and operational during the student-initiated walkout, and standard attendance and student supervision procedures were followed throughout the school day.”
“FUSD continues to encourage students to express their perspectives in thoughtful and safe ways that do not disrupt learning or compromise student safety,” the spokesperson added.
America First Legal, which is representing an upset parent in the school district, submitted records requests on Feb. 27 to learn about how the protest came about and school procedures for taking students off school grounds.
On Thursday, it slapped a complaint against FUSD in the Arizona Superior Court, demanding that the school district be compelled to fork over those documents, claiming it received none of them thus far.
The document request was comprehensive and demanded all materials and communications related to the anti-ICE protest.
“When a school district goes completely dark after a public records request by a parent seeking information related to how a school is trying to use children as political pawns, it raises serious questions about what it may be hiding,” James Rogers, Senior Counsel at America First Legal, said in a statement.
“If FUSD won’t follow the law voluntarily, AFL will enforce compliance in court and bring the truth into the light.”
Notably, America First Legal was founded by White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, a staunch immigration hardliner.
When asked why the district hasn’t been responsive to the records requests sought by America First Legal, an FUSD spokesperson told The Post that it is “currently managing a high volume of public records requests.”
“This request will be fulfilled once the requests submitted ahead of it have been completed,” the spokesperson said.
At the time of the FUSD walk-out, the country was grappling with a firestorm over the tragic deaths of Renee Good, who accelerated her SUV in the direction of an immigration enforcement officer before getting shot, and Alex Pretti, who was shoved to the ground and shot after standing between an officer and a woman.
Both were protesting the Operation Metro Surge immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which the Trump administration ordered due to controversy over a gobsmacking welfare fraud scandal. That operation has since wound down.
