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Parents, attorneys and councilmember urge MUHSD to reverse discipline for student walkouts, cite SB 955
Summary
At a Merced Union High School District board meeting, community members, an attorney and a city councilmember urged the district to reconsider suspensions of four students who took part in a national walkout, citing California’s SB 955 and asking for clearer civic‑engagement policies and ICE protocols.
At the Merced Union High School District board meeting, parents, students and advocates called on the district to reverse discipline imposed on four students who participated in a recent walkout and to clarify policies on civic engagement and campus safety.
Harlan Dymond, an attorney who said he works with California Rural Legal Assistance, told trustees the district’s response raised legal and procedural concerns. “SB 955 is the Student Engagement Act. It became law in 2023, and it says that students have the right to an excused absence for civic engagement,” Dymond said, adding that he understood four Merced students were suspended after a walkout and that “willful defiance is not a legal ground for suspension and hasn't been since 2024.”
Multiple speakers asked the board to treat student protests as protected civic engagement rather than misconduct. Maria Elena Young, a member of the local ACLU chapter, said she was “glad the vice superintendent has met with the families and that there is a path forward,” and urged the district to ensure students are not punished for exercising constitutional rights.
Councilmember Fue Xiong (District 6) told trustees that punishing students “sends a strong message” and urged clear policies and staff training to keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement off campus and to reassure students of their safety. “Rather than punishing our students for taking the lead, I think it’s important that we support our youth,” he said.
A student involved in the walkout, Addison Shane, told the board the experience left younger or future student activists afraid to organize. Shane asked the district to expand education for students and staff about lawful civic engagement and to avoid principal-only discipline that escalates to involuntary conferences: “I hope that this motivates you guys to have further education into… the correct policy for civic engagement in students.”
Speakers described follow-up meetings with district staff. Several public commenters said the vice superintendent had met individually with families and that staff communications (including a message that “ICE is not on campus”) followed the incident; however, no formal board action or vote was taken on discipline during the meeting.
The board heard the public comments and moved on to the next agenda items. Trustees did not take an immediate formal vote to reverse the suspensions while members of the public urged the district to reconcile discipline practices with SB 955 and to publish clear ICE and civic‑engagement protocols.
What happens next: Commenters said district leadership has met with affected families and that additional follow-up and possible policy education are expected; the board’s regular agenda continued without a vote on the suspensions.
