EXCLUSIVE: Washington Dems move to give students excused absences for anti-ICE protests

Democrats in Washington state are pushing new legislation that would require school districts to give students excused absences for protesting. The bill was proposed the same day hundreds of Seattle Public School students walked out of class and marched downtown, blocking traffic to protest ICE.

House Bill 2732 was introduced by Democratic Representatives Osman Salahuddin and Gregory “Greg” Dylan Nance and would mandate that districts grant students up to one excused absence each academic term for what the legislation calls “civic engagement activities.”

The legislation was proposed the same day hundreds of students from Seattle public and private schools walked out of class on Thursday, with demands for city leaders at a rally that stretched from their schools to City Hall and onto 4th Avenue to protest ICE. Student protesters temporarily blocked traffic for their march along 4th and 5th avenues, causing some delays and some students vandalizing property. Hundreds more have been walking out all week in the Greater Seattle area. According to KOMO News, Socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson joined the protest.

One parent of a Seattle Public School student told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that students at their child's school walked out of class twice this week, with teachers cancelling class. Despite widespread rumors and multiple false alarms, no incidents related to immigration enforcement have been documented at schools in the area.

Under HB 2732, civic engagement activities eligible for excused absences include legislative visits, organized advocacy days, convention participation, civic leadership events, civic leadership programming, and meetings with elected officials, categories opponents say are vague enough to include demonstrations and politically organized events.

The bill also limits the authority of schools to say no. Requests for excused absences would need to be signed by a parent or legal guardian, describe the civic activity, and be submitted at least seven days in advance. But districts are not allowed to deny requests for reasons outside the bill’s narrow requirements, a provision critics say strips administrators of discretion and forces schools to treat political activism as an approved absence.

On Thursday, the National Education Association (NEA), one of the largest teachers’ unions in the US, sent out an email urging educators and parents nationwide to take action against immigration enforcement. In the email titled “Hold ICE Accountable and Prioritize Student, Community Safety,” the union claims masked ICE agents are spreading fear in schools and communities in states including Minnesota, California, Oregon, Maine, and beyond.

The NEA calls on supporters to contact Congress ahead of the February 13 deadline for negotiating the Department of Homeland Security budget, demanding ICE and DHS withdraw from communities, end warrantless operations, protect schools and other sensitive locations from enforcement activity, and cooperate with investigations into shootings involving federal agents. The message frames the issue not just as immigration enforcement, but as a broader fight over civil rights.