On Wednesday last week students at Pittsburgh’s Allderdice High School worked with school leaders to stage a walk out against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The peaceful protest finished at 3:30 p.m and the crowd dispersed.

“Pittsburgh Public Schools respects students’ rights to engage in lawful, peaceful expression while prioritizing student safety and maintaining a secure learning environment,” Ebony Pugh, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson said.

The Duke believes that students should be allowed to lawfully and peacefully protest in the form of school walkouts, with the facilitation of faculty to ensure safety and avoid unlawful behavior.

The First Amendment does not consider a walkout to be a form of protected speech. Students leaving school grounds without an excused absence can be punished by faculty. However, schools cannot increase the punishment solely because the action has a political message, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“While the Constitution may permit discipline in some cases, it certainly does not require it,” said Adriana Piñon, the legal director at ACLU of Texas in a statement.

Piñon’s statement was released as a reaction to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Feb. 6 statement on X calling to defund public schools and investigate the faculty that allow students to protest. Piñon also said that what the state is threatening goes beyond routine punishment, the severe consequences for peaceful speech could amount to retaliation, which is unconstitutional.

Abbott is not the only Governor that has taken to social media to condemn these protests.

On Feb. 18, hundreds students at Oklahoma’s Mustang Public School were suspended after walking out of class in protest of ICE.

Oklahoma Governor, Kevin Stitt, went on X in support of the decision to suspend the students.

“I applaud Mustang Superintendent Dr. Charles Bradley for suspending 122 students who walked out of class to protest,” Stitt said on X. “Young Oklahomans: Free speech is sacred, but truancy robs your future. Stay in school, build skills, and make your voice heard responsibly.”

Although we agree that students should stay in school, Stitt is missing the point. In class we learn about Constitution which guarantees and encourages us to use the freedom of speech and assembly. In history we learn about the Civil Rights Movement and how the March on Washington came to create positive change. Our education teaches us the importance of civic engagement. The students participating in these walk outs are simply applying what they have learned — that should not come with punishment.