COLUMBUS — A teacher at Independence High School is on leave after she took students out of class during school hours to join an anti-ICE protest on Feb. 20 — something the school had not allowed.
The school is on Refugee Road on Columbus’s south side. The teacher has not been named publicly. Columbus City Schools opened an investigation. No formal punishment has been announced yet.
What the School Said She Did
School officials had told students they could hold a walkout protest — but only after the school day ended. According to the teacher’s misconduct form, she took two groups of students outside at around 1 p.m., right in the middle of the school day. The form says she ignored instructions from administrators about leaving the building.
Several students at Independence High School also faced discipline after the incident, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Columbus City Schools spokesman Mike Brown said the district had worked with students ahead of time to plan a walkout at the end of the day. The teacher did not follow that plan.
Students Were Protesting
The protest was about ICE — Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In December 2025, ICE ran an operation called “Operation Buckeye” that arrested more than 280 people across Central Ohio in just one week, from Dec. 16 to 21.
After that, students at several Columbus-area schools started walking out of class to protest. Schools in Worthington, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Dublin all saw similar protests.
Columbus Education Association President John Coneglio said many students in the district are scared.
“Our immigrant kids are afraid to come to school,” Coneglio said.
What Columbus City Council Did
Columbus City Council passed new rules to limit ICE activity inside the city. The new laws ban immigration detention centers in Columbus, stop city workers from taking side jobs with ICE, and restrict immigration enforcement on city property. Another new law makes it a crime to harass people near schools or daycare centers.
What the Law Says
In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that schools cannot stop students from expressing their views just because administrators disagree. But courts have also said that walking out of class during school hours is different — schools can still give students detention or other consequences for missing class, no matter what the protest is about.
What Happens Next
Columbus City Schools said the investigation is still open. The teacher is on leave and has not been formally punished. She is presumed innocent until the investigation is complete.
This article is based on information from Columbus City Schools, the teacher’s misconduct form as reported by the Columbus Dispatch, and statements from Columbus Education Association President John Coneglio.