Public commenter asks board about ICE on campus and protest policy after EHC incident
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Yolanda Greenway asked the Coweta County Board of Education what its policy is if ICE agents come onto school property and why a planned student protest was not permitted while an earlier demonstration was approved; the board made no immediate substantive response and moved into executive session.
Yolanda Greenway, a member of the public, used the board's allotted comment time on Feb. 10 to ask two multipart questions about immigration enforcement and student demonstrations.
Greenway asked, “What is the board of ed's position regarding ICE agents entering school property and how will such a situation be handled if it occurs?” She followed with questions about a recent incident at East Coweta High School, noting coverage that said organizers attempted to work with school officials and that the superintendent issued a statement that the district disallows political demonstrations or student walkouts on campus regardless of cause.
Greenway said she understands that disruptive protests are unacceptable but raised First Amendment concerns if the district broadly disallows political demonstrations. She asked why students were not given the opportunity to hold a coordinated, approved lunchtime protest when, she said, a different demonstration supporting Principal Allen in 2025 had been approved. Greenway said she was speaking after hearing students’ concerns firsthand and expressed worry about the potential trauma to students if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were to appear on campus.
The board did not engage with an extended, substantive response during the public comment period. Shortly after the public comment segment, the board moved to enter executive session to discuss personnel, real estate and potential litigation. No formal policy clarification or a district response to Greenway’s questions is recorded in the public portion of the transcript.
Because the commenter referenced prior events and named a student (identified in an article, per the comment, as Veil Quinn) and the principal (Allen) in relation to protests, the transcript records these references but does not contain a staff policy citation or a direct answer explaining why one demonstration was allowed and another was not.