Hundreds of Indiana students walk out of schools to protest ICE

This story will be updated. 

Students across Indianapolis and in nearby suburbs walked out of class Monday morning, bundled in winter coats and carrying handmade signs to join a growing national movement of young people protesting federal immigration enforcement.

More than 100 students at Noblesville High School in Hamilton County and Southport High School in Marion County walked along sidewalks and in streets, calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to leave cities in the wake of the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis residents by federal agents in January.

In Noblesville, students carried signs with messages including "ICE kills" and "No one’s illegal on stolen land.”

Walkouts are also planned Monday at North Central and Park Tudor high schools. 

Noblesville Superintendent Dan Hile said in a community message that the district is "legally required to respect the First Amendment rights of students," but noted the school does not endorse political activism. He urged students to express beliefs in a way that is "not disruptive to other students or the operation of the school.”

While students have the right to protest, they are not exempt from school rules. A district spokesperson confirmed the school will follow its "normal process" for attendance. "Any student who does not report to class and has not been excused by a parent will be marked as truant," the spokesperson said.

While the First Amendment protects the right to protest, Indiana schools can still issue consequences for missing instructional time.

The scene in Noblesville mirrors a walkout at another Hamilton County school. On Jan. 20 at Carmel High School, hundreds of students left at the end of the school day and marched to the city hall to voice their opposition to the Trump administration and federal immigration enforcement.