Internal emails, messages, and memos from the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) in Arizona indicate that staff members may have violated security protocols and several school policies by assisting with a student walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year, according to a review by America First Legal.
Hundreds of high school and middle school students in Flagstaff participated in the walkout to demonstrate against ICE on January 28. This protest took place amidst a national discussion following the deaths of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Immediately after the event, numerous parents voiced significant concern over student safety, expressing anger that they were not informed their children were permitted to leave school grounds without parental permission. One parent, who had children under 12, stated, “the district failed us as parents.”
Internal Communications Reveal Coordination and Security Concerns
Screenshots from a district staff text message group show faculty members coordinating during the walkout. One staff member messaged, “We have 75 plus students staged outside of fhs [Flagstaff High School] getting ready to walk.” The same message also noted, “Looks like we have some members of the public joining.”
Another message from a staff member raised security questions, stating, “Be aware of propped open doors that are left for reentry.”
A spokesperson for the district commented on the situation, explaining, “The District was placed in the challenging position of balancing students’ First Amendment rights, student safety and school operations in the most appropriate way it could.”
Alleged Policy Violations and Advance Knowledge
District policies stipulate that “the Superintendent shall limit access to school buildings and grounds” and that faculty “maintain protocols regarding the distribution of keys or equipment to access District property.” Furthermore, FUSD policy mandates that students aged six to 16 are “required to attend school during the school’s hours” and that “the school in which the student is enrolled shall make a reasonable effort to promptly telephone and notify the parent/legal guardian or other person who has custody of the student of the student’s absence from school.”
An email sent by a student to then-Flagstaff High School Principal Tadd Ragan indicates that district personnel were aware of the planned protest at least two days in advance. The student informed Ragan that students intended to leave their classes to protest ICE at 11:45 a.m. The email specified that the protest would occur “near a main road for more recognition” and sought guidance on “finding a more organized way of going about this.”
In response, Ragan assured the student that “as a District and School we have a plan to maintain a peaceful protest.” A subsequent email from Ragan asked the student, “Can you come by my office during first period?”
Another faculty member, Janet Chavez-Vesely, an “instructional coach” at Flagstaff, sent an email to several school administrators the day before the protest, revealing that she had discussed the impending walkout with the student Hispanic Culture Club. Chavez-Vesely noted that she “stayed neutral and answered questions while they planned.”
She also mentioned that one of the students “plans to stop by and see me” to further discuss the protest. Chavez-Vesely informed the school administrators, “I am available to support supervision,” adding, “just let me know where.”
Some parents who became aware of the walkout before it occurred contacted the district via email, informing staff that their children would be absent from school due to safety concerns.
On Tuesday, one parent emailed Ragan, stating, “I am keeping my daughter home from school this Wednesday as it has been brought to my attention that both Flagstaff high school and Coconino high school have planned out an entire protest.”
The parent expressed, “This is not something that I want my child involved in nor do I want her around during it nor do I want her suffering any of the consequences that come with not participating and or being pressured into participating in potentially getting in a violent situation.”
Another parent emailed faculty late on Tuesday night, writing, “My kids will not be at school tomorrow.” This parent added, “This is not something that I want my children exposed to or involved in as situations like this in the past have become violent and unsafe.”
Meanwhile, at least one faculty member showed enthusiasm for the protest, texting, “This Walk out thing is going to be FUN!”
On the morning of the protest, Sinagua Middle School Principal Christopher Koenker distributed an email stating that FUSD “supports our students’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and free expression and is aware of student-led events planned.”
He clarified that “schools will neither encourage nor discourage student participation” and mentioned that the district was considering providing additional staff and law enforcement presence “for protection and supervision, not to suppress student expression.”
Post-Protest Review and Teacher Conduct
Following the protest, an internal “Walk Out Debrief” memo explicitly stated that “school isn’t responsible for students’ safety after they leave campus.”
Another memo detailed that a teacher, identified as “Ms. Donovan,” took her class outside to observe “rights vs. responsibilities” during the walkout. An administrator noted that only three students remained indoors and that “later conversations with the 3 students indicated that they really weren’t comfortable being outside.” The administrator eventually asked Donovan to bring the class back inside “as it might appear that she was influencing them to be outside.”
In the same memo, the administrator also noted that Donovan had discussed ICE operations in her class, informing students that officers had “used” a five-year-old “to lure the family out to take him.” The administrator wrote that they inquired with a student if she felt Donovan “pushes her opinions on her.” The student responded that after the protest, Donovan had asked students to raise their hands if they participated in the protest, after which she “congratulated them,” saying, “Great job for standing up for your first amendment rights.”
Parents Express Profound Disappointment
Parents, however, quickly conveyed their feelings of outrage and being caught off guard.
One mother wrote that upon learning of the protest, she and her husband “were terrified that our daughter was peer pressured (by friends, classmates, teachers, and the school district) to be a part of this.”
“We’re thankful that our daughter remained at school, due to fear and frustration, but there is still the ‘what if’? What if something happened to any students during the walkout?” she continued, adding, “We expect the district to be transparent and not jeopardize our children’s safety.”
Another middle school parent expressed that they were neither made aware of the protest nor contacted until the end of the day. They wrote that their child “was under the impression this was a school sponsored event,” given that faculty allegedly provided “maps” and directions to the event.
“This school district has broken my trust and neglected your responsibilities and disregard for your own policies,” the parent wrote.
America First Legal stated that FUSD’s “conduct raises serious questions about whether district employees crossed that line.”
“Parents deserved to know where their children were. The law required these officials to act, and they failed on both counts,” a representative said.