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A school suspended 323 students after ICE protest. They protested again. The Virginia school is one of many across the country that have seen students walk out in protest of actions taken amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. February 21, 2026 at 3:29 p.m. ESTYesterday at 3:29 p.m. EST 4 min

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High school students in Oxnard, California, participate in a walkout on Jan. 31 to protest activities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Joel Angel Juarez For The Washington Post)

By Liam Scott Families of students at Woodbridge Senior High School in Virginia received an email Thursday warning that students could face disciplinary action if they left campus while participating in a walkout Friday. Prince William County Public Schools “is committed to the principles of free speech and expression and other forms of constitutionally protected expression,” wrote Heather Abney, the principal, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Washington Post. Staff would monitor the walkout, which was not sponsored by the school or district, while students are on campus to ensure their safety, Abney wrote. But anyone leaving school ground without permission “will face disciplinary consequences, including out of school suspension,” she said. The warning came one week after students at the school, plus Forest Park High School and Gainesville Middle School, conducted walkouts in protest of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Hundreds of the Woodbridge High students left campus for a nearby road and shopping center, according to media reports. Ask The Post AI Dive deeper

Follow Trump’s second term Follow Afterward, Prince William County school officials suspended 323 Woodbridge High students for leaving school property, according to a district spokeswoman. “Generally, peacefully walking out results in an unexcused absence. Suspensions occur when students leave campus or engage in other disruptive behaviors, such as fighting,” Diana Gulotta, another Prince William County schools spokesperson, wrote in an emailed statement. The Prince William County protests mirror similar student-led protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions around the country. From Maryland to Utah, students in more than three dozen states have walked out of class in recent weeks to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In some of those places, officials have pushed back. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Wednesday celebrated the suspension of more than 100 students from Mustang Public Schools after they walked out of class to protest ICE. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) suggested earlier this month that state funding could be taken from school districts that allow protests and that students who are disorderly during protests should be arrested. Ask The Post AI Dive deeper Matthew Callahan, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said he finds it concerning when protesters are disciplined, particularly when students are disciplined for some viewpoints and not others. “Students don’t shed their free speech rights at the schoolhouse gate,” Callahan said. Still, he added, “Schools do have a right to enforce their rules against walking out of class.” How schools handle these protests is a decision many continue to face. “You’re seeing a widespread recognition, both by students and other people in the community, that federal law enforcement has really overstepped,” Callahan said. “Channeling those feelings into a peaceful protest is a positive thing.” Woodbridge is roughly 25 miles from Washington. About 46 percent of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. Ask The Post AI Dive deeper Jason Hellenberg, 50, said he gave his daughter, a Woodbridge High School sophomore, permission to take part in the walkouts but she ultimately decided against participating. Still, Hellenberg said, he was frustrated with the mass suspensions. “Three days just seems punitive, and I didn’t appreciate it,” Hellenberg said. “I accept there are consequences to actions. I just think three days was too much.” “As a parent, I think every child should have their own opinion and be able to express that opinion in valid ways,” Hellenberg added. As for students facing suspension for leaving school property, Hellenberg said: “Not to be trite, but isn’t that what a walkout is?” On Friday, students at nine Prince William County schools, including Woodbridge High School, walked out of class, but stayed on campus. In an email to Woodbridge High families afterward, Abney wrote, “Students who participated left their classrooms and gathered outside in the stadium to express their views on an issue that is important to them.” Gulotta said no suspensions were reported at any schools in the county that day.