VIERA, Fla. – A month after some high school students left campuses to protest ICE, Brevard County’s school board is considering harsher punishment for students who walk out of class that would extend to anyone affiliated with the district who encourages a disruption to school, not just the kids."
Your Viera Community Correspondent, James Sparvero, talked to students at two recent ICE protests.
One at district headquarters was not on a school day, but another at Rockledge High School was.
“If they’re leaving our campuses without anyone knowing, that’s not OK,” school board member Megan Wright said.
[WATCH: Florida school districts warn of consequences as ICE protest walkouts spread]
On Friday, Wright told Sparvero she’s worried about children’s safety because in February, at a protest in South Florida, a student got hit by a car.
“The goal here isn’t to stop someone from their freedom of speech,” Wright said. “It’s to make sure that our schools are safe.”
Wright said she’d like to see three days of suspension for students who participate in walkouts.
She said some other board members might even want to expel students.
A stricter walkout policy could also extend to firing school employees, like teachers, if they promote a walkout, or even third-party vendors who could lose their contracts with the district.
[WATCH: Brevard schools highlight differences in protests]
“I’m watching kids that are influenced by outside influencers that really don’t have our children’s best interests at heart,” Wright said. “Children shouldn’t be used in a manner where there, I mean, really, trying to advance propaganda that you’re going, ‘They don’t even understand what they’re protesting right now.’”
The board weighs in next at its meeting on March 31.
A vote on a new policy once those harsher consequences are agreed upon isn’t expected for a couple of months, so stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com to keep you updated.