Excusing Students For ICE Protests May Be Illegal

WASHINGTON - Feb. 6, 2026 - PRLog -- Many schools which recently excused students to participate in protests against ICE may have violated the U.S. Constitution if they didn't both offer and follow the same policy for protests against abortions and for similar causes which many would consider conservative and/or libertarian, says constitutional law expert Professor John Banzhaf.

Many schools reportedly permitted students to be absence during scheduled classroom or other instructional periods, including some without parental consent.

But, notes Banzhaf, reports indicate that many schools in the past did not make the same offer, and follow the same policy, with regard to protests against abortions, restrictions related to guns, mandatory COVID vaccinations, etc.

If schools treated student walkouts to participate in protests differently depending on the cause, they may have violated the constitution rights of students who wanted to exercise their free speech rights to speak out on other issues which were not favored by school administrators, argues the law professor.

While schools may constitutionally restrict the rights of students to participate in demonstrations, they must not only impose the same restrictions with regard of the speech being expressed by the protestors; they must also make similar announcements about regarding participation, impose the same conditions, and give the parents the same notice and opportunity to agree or object, he warns.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of  Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
"The Man Behind The Ban on Cigarette Commercials"
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Creator of the "Banzhaf Index"
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH),
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com @profbanzhaf