Flagstaff Unified staff allegedly broke school policy in ICE walkout

SPECIAL: According to America First Legal, internal emails, messages and memos from Arizona’s Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) allege that staff violated security protocol and violated various school policies by allowing students to leave school earlier this year to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Hundreds of Flagstaff high school and middle school students walked out of class on January 28 to protest ICE. The protest comes amid national controversy over the deaths of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. Immediately following the walkout, many parents expressed safety concerns and expressed anger that they were not notified that their children were allowed to leave the school building without their consent. One parent, who said he had children under the age of 12, said “the district failed us as parents.”

Documents obtained by America First Legal, a conservative watchdog group, reveal that FUSD officials knew about strike days in advance and coordinated with students. The documents reviewed by Fox News Digital were obtained by America First Legal through a lawsuit that forced FUSD to comply with a public records request for strike-related records.

Screenshots of the district staff text group show faculty coordinating during the strike. A staff member texted, “We have over 75 students staging outside FHS [Flagstaff High School] I’m getting ready to walk.” In the same message, staff wrote: “Apparently some of our members of the public are also participating.”

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Another concerning message from a staff member read: “Note doors left open for re-entry.”

In response to America First Legal’s criticism, a district spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “We respectfully disagree with the notion that Flagstaff Unified School District encourages students to disagree with District policies or intentionally ignores District policies.”

“The district is placed in the challenging position of balancing students’ First Amendment rights, student safety, and school operations in the most appropriate manner possible,” the spokesperson said. he said.

District policy states that the “Superintendent will limit access to school buildings and grounds” and that faculty will “Maintain protocols for the distribution of keys or equipment for access to District property.” Additionally, the FUSD policy also stipulates that students ages six to 16 “must attend school during school hours” and that “the school in which the student is enrolled must use reasonable efforts to promptly notify the student’s parent/legal guardian or other person having custody of the student by telephone of the student’s absence from school.”

An email from a student to then-Flagstaff High School Principal Tadd Ragan indicates district staff were aware the protest would occur at least two days in advance. The student notified Ragan that students planned to walk out of class at 11:45 a.m. to protest ICE. The student said the protest would take place “near the main road for more publicity” and asked for advice “on finding a more organized way to do this.”

In response, Ragan told the student, “As a District and School, we have a plan to continue a peaceful protest.” In a subsequent email, Ragan asked the student, “Can you come to my office during first period?” he asked.

Another faculty member, Flagstaff “instructional coach” Janet Chavez-Vesely, sent an email to several school administrators the day before the protest, explaining that she had discussed the planned strike with the student Hispanic Culture Club. Chavez-Vesely wrote that he “remained neutral and answered questions while they planned.”

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Protesters gather in Austin, Texas, on January 8, 2026, to rally against ICE following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. (Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

He noted that one of the students was “planning to stop by and see me” to discuss the protest further. “I’m willing to support the audit,” Chavez-Vesely told school administrators, adding, “just let me know where it is.”

Some parents who were aware of the strike beforehand emailed the district to inform staff that their children would not attend school, citing safety concerns.

“I am keeping my daughter home from school this Wednesday because it has been brought to my attention that both Flagstaff high and Coconino high are planning a full protest,” one parent emailed Ragan on Tuesday.

“This is not something I want my child involved in, I don’t want him to be around during this, and I don’t want him to suffer any of the consequences of not participating and/or being forced to participate in a potentially violent situation,” the parent wrote.

Another parent emailed faculty late Tuesday night, writing: “My children will not be in school tomorrow.” The parent stated: “This is not something I want my children to be exposed to or involved in as situations like this have become violent and unsafe in the past.”

Meanwhile, at least one faculty member was excited about the protest, writing in one text: “This Coming Out thing is going to be FUN!”

The morning of the protest, Sinagua Middle School Principal Christopher Koenker sent an email stating that FUSD “supports our students’ constitutional rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression and is aware of the planned student-led events.”

“Schools will neither encourage nor discourage student participation,” he wrote. He added that the district is trying to provide additional personnel and law enforcement presence “for the purpose of protection and supervision, not to suppress student expression.”

An internal “Exit Notification” memo after the protest emphasized that “the school is not responsible for the safety of students once they leave campus.”

Another note stated that a teacher identified as “Mrs. Donovan” took her class outside to witness the “rights versus responsibilities” issue on display during the strike. An administrator noted that only three students remained inside and “in subsequent interviews with the three students, it was stated that they were really uncomfortable being outside.” The administrator eventually stated that he asked Donovan to bring the class back inside, “because it might seem like Donovan was influencing them to be outside.”

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Twin Arrows, Arizona, ruins of Twin Arrows Trading Post, which closed in 1995. The building is now covered in graffiti, including a memorial to Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis in January 2026. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

In the same memo, the administrator noted that Donovan also discussed ICE operations in his classroom, telling students that officers “used” a five-year-old child “to persuade the family to take him away.” The administrator wrote that they asked a student if he felt Donovan was “forcing his opinions” on him. The student responded that after the protest, Donovan asked students to raise their hands if they attended the protest and then “congratulated them” and said, “Great job defending their first amendment rights.”

But parents immediately expressed anger and bewilderment.

One mother wrote that after learning about the protest, she and her husband “were afraid our daughter was under peer pressure (by friends, classmates, teachers, and the school district) to be a part of it.”

“We are thankful that our daughter stayed in school out of fear and frustration, but there is still the question of ‘what if?’ What if something happens to any student during the strike?” He continued: “We expect the district to be transparent and not jeopardize the safety of our children.”

A Las Vegas family said their son was expelled from school for displaying pro-ICE stickers on campus after students protesting ICE walked out. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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Another middle school parent wrote that they were not informed of the protest and were not contacted until the end of the day. They wrote that their children were “under the impression that this was a school-sponsored event” because faculty allegedly provided “maps” and instructions for the event.

“This school district broke my trust, neglected your responsibilities, and disregarded your own policies,” the parent wrote.

Commenting on this matter, America First Senior Legal Counsel James Rogers told Fox News Digital: “These documents are a stunning betrayal of that trust.”

Rogers said FUSD’s “conduct raises serious questions about whether district employees crossed that line.”

“Parents deserved to know where their children were. The law required these authorities to take action, and they failed on both counts,” he said.