323 Woodbridge High students were suspended for an anti-ICE protest — then organized an even larger, countywide demonstration days later.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Hundreds of students at Woodbridge Senior High School in Prince William County, Virginia, staged a second round of anti-ICE protests last week, just days after school officials confirmed that 323 students had been suspended with three-day penalties for leaving campus without permission during a walkout on February 13.
The disciplinary response did little to quell student activism. Within days, a student-led Instagram account, @pwcs_iceout, had begun circulating plans for a countywide demonstration — this time, organizers said, coordinated with school administrators to keep students on school property and avoid further suspensions.
Why Students Were Suspended — And Why They Say It Wasn’t Enough to Stop Them
According to Prince William County Public Schools spokesperson Diana Gulotta, the 323 suspensions stemmed specifically from students leaving school grounds and streaming onto busy Old Bridge Road — not from the act of protesting itself. Students from Forest Park High School and Gainesville Middle School, who remained on school property during similar demonstrations, were not disciplined.
School Board Chairman Dr. Babur Lateef echoed that position, stating the suspensions were based on a violation of the district’s code of behavior, not on the political nature of the demonstration. Principal Heather Abney sent a letter to parents acknowledging that walkouts allow students to voice concerns on issues “important to them,” but reiterated that leaving campus without permission carries mandatory consequences under district policy.
Despite those warnings, students moved forward. The countywide protest on February 20 involved at least nine Prince William County high schools, including Battlefield, Colgan, Hylton, Osbourn Park, Patriot, Gar-Field, and Independence Nontraditional School, according to local reporting.
The Broader Anti-ICE Student Protest Movement
The Woodbridge incident is part of a rapidly expanding wave of student-led anti-ICE walkouts taking place at K-12 schools across the United States. The demonstrations intensified following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis last month, according to The Hill.
In Oklahoma, Mustang Public Schools suspended 122 students for similar walkouts. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt publicly praised that decision, writing on X that “free speech is sacred, but truancy robs your future.” More than 200 students at Pittsburgh’s Allderdice High School also walked out, chanting “abolish ICE.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced investigations into three school districts over allegations that teachers encouraged students to participate, though his office has not disclosed what specific evidence supports those inquiries, according to The Hill.
First Amendment Rights and the Legal Line Schools Are Walking
Legal experts say schools are operating within their authority — but must do so carefully.
Adam Goldstein, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told The Hill that while students have the right to passive, nondisruptive expression on school grounds, a physical walkout that disrupts the school day falls outside First Amendment protection as interpreted by courts.
Robert Kim, executive director of the Education Law Center, agreed that schools can enforce neutral absence policies but cautioned that officials cannot selectively apply those rules based on political viewpoint. That distinction may be critical if any of the suspensions face legal challenge.
Students Adapt — Keeping Protests on School Property
Kareena Grover, a senior at Colgan High School and one of the student organizers behind the countywide protest, said the goal was always to demonstrate safely and within bounds. She told Prince William Times that keeping the protest on school grounds — away from the heavily trafficked Va. 234 — was a deliberate safety decision.
“The fact that we all came together to organize something shows so much,” Grover said. “Your voice is powerful and it does make a difference.”
The @pwcs_iceout Instagram page encouraged participants to remain peaceful, writing that calm demonstrations “show that your voice matters” and “make a bigger impact in the long run.”
As of publication, Prince William County Public Schools has not announced additional suspensions connected to the February 20 protest. The district confirmed in a letter to parents that students who kept demonstrations on school property and followed administrative guidance would not face disciplinary action.
💡 Did You Know? The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) established that students do not “shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate” — but courts have consistently held that physically walking off campus is not protected speech under that ruling.
