Sylmar Middle School Tells Student It’s Illegal to Engage in Upcoming Walkout, Mom Claims

A local mom is accusing a Sylmar middle school of pulling her daughter out of class and telling her that it would be “illegal” for her and other students to walk out of campus for the planned San Fernando Valley-wide walkout on Friday, Feb. 6.

Maritza Ocegueda is the parent of a sixth grader at Olive Vista Middle School. She told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol that her daughter, Mia, had first learned about Friday’s walkout, a student-led protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, about a month ago. Mia expressed interest in the walkout and took it upon herself to bring a poster to school with the date and time to encourage her classmates to join her.

But around lunchtime, Ocegueda said her daughter was informed by teachers that she could not have the poster in school. An assistant principal called Ocegueda that evening to inform her of what happened. According to the mom, the school said that it was fine for her daughter to inform other students about the walkout through word of mouth, but she could not bring the poster to school.

Although she wasn’t very clear on the reason why, Ocegueda and her daughter agreed she would not bring any more posters to school.

However, last week, Ocegueda claimed that just before Mia was supposed to take a test, she and two of her classmates were pulled from class and brought to a room with four other adults, plus Principal Clara Herran appeared over Zoom, and the students were kept there for 90 minutes. 

In an Instagram video taken by her mom, Mia said, “They pulled me out of class when we were testing, and they told me that walking out is illegal and it’s also illegal to have posters, and … if [I] still really want to do it, to do it on the PE field,” she said. “I didn’t feel like that was OK … because I’m a student and it’s a student-led walk out.” 

Ocegueda said that the school didn’t inform her that they had pulled her daughter out of class, and only knew what had happened because her daughter had told her. To this day, she doesn’t know if the parents of the other two students were ever informed that their children were pulled from class.

“I was beyond livid. There is no word to describe how I felt at the time,” Ocegueda said. “At no point did they reach out to us as parents and say we were talking to your kid about this. I went there [to the school] the next morning and … they didn’t want to bring in everybody that was [involved] in that meeting … because they couldn’t interrupt their instructional time, but they were OK with interrupting my daughter’s class time, which didn’t make any sense to me.”

Recounting the meeting she had that day with an assistant principal and a head counselor, Ocegueda said that they tried to put forth alternatives to the walkout, like holding a protest inside the school. However, she countered that this was a student-led movement and not up for the school to decide.

“Why is the administration trying to control the situation?” Ocegueda questioned. “If they want to be part of something, they can do that, but at a different time. This is for the students to organize and do something about.”

Under the First Amendment, students have the right to freedom of speech and assembly which would include participating in a walk out in protest during school hours; however, the school can still discipline students for missing class and unexcused absences. It should be noted, though, that a school can’t discipline a student more harshly for missing class due to a walkout than it would for any other kind of unexcused absence. 

Ocegueda said that the upcoming walkout is a chance for students to speak their mind about the ongoing ICE raids. Several of Mia’s classmates have had family members taken by immigration authorities, she added, and there’s a possibility that one of them may be deported herself.

“For the [school] administration, instead of helping out and saying here’s what you can do, they’re trying to change the kids’ minds and shut them down when this is something that affects them,” Ocegueda said. “Sadly, [the ICE raids are] happening in our communities. … My daughter … is speaking out against them because she feels strongly about it, and I support her.”

Despite the frustration this situation has caused, Ocegueda expressed pride in her daughter for being able to hold her own against the school faculty and said, as adults, they need to pay attention to student voices as they are the “next generation of fighters.”

The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol contacted Los Angeles Unified School District for comment. They provided the following statement in response: 

“Los Angeles Unified supports students’ right to freedom of speech and to advocate for causes important to them. However, we are concerned for their safety at off-campus demonstrations as schools are the safest place for students. 

“Administrators routinely meet with students to share safety information and clarify options for on-campus expression – not to threaten or discipline. Leaving campus during instructional time without permission is discouraged; that message is about safety and supervision, not suppressing speech.

“Schools are providing students with opportunities on campus for student expression, offering additional District resources and guidance for students to engage in meaningful, age-appropriate discussions in a safe and welcoming environment. They are also allowed to participate in peaceful demonstrations on campus during non-instructional times, within parameters set by administrators. This information is also shared with parents.”

The San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol also reached out to Olive Vista Middle for comment, but they did not respond by press time.