Walkouts, ICE and Academic Reality: Should Students Face Consequences?

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews

Dozens of students at Arundel High School — along with students in parts of Baltimore County — walked out of class this past week to protest federal immigration enforcement operations. According to local reporting, the demonstrations were aimed at opposing ICE activity and expressing solidarity with immigrant communities.

The question now facing school administrators is straightforward:

Will there be consequences?

And perhaps more importantly:

What message does this send in a state where many students are struggling to read, write, calculate basic math, and meet graduation standards?

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Civic Engagement or Classroom Evasion?

Let’s begin with a clear principle: peaceful protest is a protected American tradition. Students have long engaged in demonstrations — from civil rights to gun policy to climate change.

But public schools are not public parks.

They are taxpayer-funded institutions with one primary mission: academic instruction.

If students leave class during school hours without authorization, that is, by definition, skipping school. The political nature of the cause does not automatically exempt them from attendance policies.

If schools discipline students for unexcused absences in other contexts — sports events, social gatherings, or simply choosing not to attend — consistency demands the same standard apply here.

Equal rules are what make institutions credible.

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Maryland’s Academic Crisis

This debate would look different if Maryland schools were thriving.

They are not.

Recent data across multiple districts show:

• Large percentages of students not proficient in reading or math
• Persistent learning loss from the prior pandemic closures
• Graduation rates that mask significant remediation and credit recovery practices
• Ongoing disparities between districts and demographic groups

In some Baltimore-area schools, fewer than half of students meet grade-level proficiency in math. Reading scores remain well below pre-pandemic benchmarks. Chronic absenteeism continues to plague districts.

Against that backdrop, students walking out of class for political activism raises uncomfortable questions.

If students are already struggling to master basic skills, should schools be encouraging activism that removes them from instruction time?

Or should the priority be restoring academic fundamentals?

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The Role of Schools

There is also a deeper institutional concern.

Public schools are government entities. When students organize protests on federal immigration enforcement — a matter of national policy — administrators must tread carefully.

Are schools neutral arbiters of civic discussion?

Or are they becoming incubators for one-sided political activism?

Students absolutely have the right to hold opinions. But schools have an obligation to avoid appearing to endorse specific political positions.

If walkouts are treated as heroic civic moments rather than attendance violations, it sends a message: political alignment may determine disciplinary leniency.

That undermines trust — especially among parents who expect academic rigor, not activism.

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Consequences Matter

Consequences do not have to be draconian. Detention. Marked unexcused absences. Standard disciplinary measures.

But abandoning consequences altogether would signal that political protest overrides academic responsibility.

That is a dangerous precedent.

Schools cannot claim chronic absenteeism is a crisis while simultaneously excusing coordinated absences because the cause is politically fashionable.

Consistency is not cruelty. It is governance.

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The Bigger Issue

The irony of these walkouts is stark.

Students are protesting federal enforcement of immigration law — while many of them are enrolled in schools struggling to enforce basic attendance and performance standards.

Maryland families deserve:

• Students who can read at grade level
• Graduates prepared for college or workforce training
• Schools focused on academic recovery
• Clear, apolitical discipline standards

The energy spent organizing walkouts could just as easily be directed toward demanding higher literacy rates, stronger math outcomes, and safer school environments.

That would be a protest with measurable results.

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Final Thought

Civic engagement is part of growing up. But adulthood includes understanding consequences.

Public schools exist to educate, not to stage political demonstrations during instructional hours.

If Maryland wants to produce informed, capable citizens, the path runs through reading proficiency and mathematical competence — not hallway chants and early dismissals.

The real crisis in Maryland education is not federal immigration enforcement.

It is academic decline.

And that deserves far more attention than a walkout.

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