NEW RECORDS: Arizona School District Ignored Safety Policies And Allowed Hundreds of Students to Leave Campus for Anti-ICE Protest Without Parental Consent
Today, America First Legal (AFL) released internal documents it obtained after suing Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) in Arizona to force compliance with AFL’s public records request for records related to a January 2026 FUSD student anti-ICE walkout. The documents reveal that FUSD officials knew about the walkout days in advance, discussed it with students, encouraged students to attend, and intentionally ignored multiple district policies so that students could attend and return from the protest.
FUSD’s own policies are clear:
Policy 5-103 outlines that a child “between the ages of six and sixteen is required to attend school during the school’s hours” and that “the student’s parent/legal guardian is required to notify the school regarding the student’s absence.” It also states that “the school… shall make a reasonable effort to promptly telephone and notify the parent/legal guardian or other person… of the student’s absence from school.” Despite that, FUSD staff allowed hundreds of students to leave school without first receiving parental consent.
Policy 3-401.D dictates that “the Superintendent shall limit access to school buildings and grounds.” Yet FUSD staff discussed leaving school doors propped open so that students could return after attending the protest.
Procedure 3-503.A explains that district “personnel or others acting on behalf of the District may act as advocates… but only as private citizens, during non-duty time outside the classroom or other instructional settings, using their own or other private resources.” Yet FUSD staff helped students plan the protest, and one teacher even directly encouraged students to attend it.
Additionally, multiple FUSD school-level policies make it clear that no student is allowed to leave school property without prior parental notification or consent:
Coconino High School: Parents must call the attendance office before students may leave the school.
Flagstaff High School: Students cannot leave the school at lunchtime unless a parent has called in advance.
Summit High School: Students must attend school during the school day unless they are excused by a parent or a person authorized by a parent.
In preparation for the walkout, the principal of Sinagua Middle School circulated student walkout protocols, including that staff would “take attendance as usual” and that “if a parent or guardian calls a student out, the attendance office will handle the absence using standard attendance codes.” (Student walkouts are not listed as an excused absence code.)
Internal emails and text messages uncovered by AFL show that FUSD officials and staff knew students planned to walk out at least two days in advance, failed to communicate with parents, failed to notify every school in the district, and failed to follow the district’s own security policies, which require parental consent for students to leave campus.
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https://aflegal.org/press-release/new-records-arizona-school-district-ignored-safety-policies-and-allowed-hundreds-of-students-to-leave-campus-for-anti-ice-protest-without-parental-consent/