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The San Antonio Independent School District is warning parents that students are planning to attend a protest during school on Tuesday, October 7, that could include the presence of firearms.
A letter sent to families at the Tech campus Thursday evening said the district has “credible evidence from area law enforcement that it will be an armed protest.”
District officials said they were worried about student safety if they participated, and that, as always, students who leave campus without permission during the school day could face discipline.
“Speak with your child to determine if they plan to participate, and if so, we urge you to discourage participation based on safety concerns,” SAISD leaders said in the letter. “While we know our students and families understand our commitment to peaceful protests, we cannot control the actions of external participants.”
The Tech campus is home to three SAISD schools: Fox Tech High School, CAST Tech High School, and the Advanced Learning Academy.
District officials also said they had asked Southwest Texas Fusion Center to monitor the situation.
A spokesperson for the San Antonio Police Department, which manages the Fusion Center, said they were aware of a protest planned for October 7 and would have a police presence “for the safety of those peacefully protesting.”
TPR asked the police department for more clarity on the protest, since there’s a big difference between the possibility of armed protesters and a credible threat of violence. However, SAPD directed questions regarding the information in SAISD’s letter back to the school district.
“We remain committed to protecting the constitutional rights of individuals and groups to conduct peaceful and lawful demonstrations,” the SAPD spokesperson said.
It’s unclear who is organizing the daytime protest SAISD said could have armed participants.
Laura Short with SAISD said the district didn’t know who was organizing it. SAISD’s letter said law enforcement told them the organizers “impersonated a school organization.”
Alex Birnel with San Antonio for Justice in Palestine said his organization is not involved in planning it.
“I'm not personally aware of the actors behind putting on this action, but I can definitively say SAJP is not involved in planning it,” Birnel said in an email. “Up until this communication, I was under the impression we were the only group organizing an event that day.”
San Antonio for Justice in Palestine has a press conference scheduled for noon on Saturday at San Antonio City Hall, and a rally scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7 at San Pedro Springs Park on San Pedro Ave.
Tuesday, October 7 marks two years since Hamas attacked Israel and the start of the war in Gaza.
In February, San Antonio ISD students walked out of school and marched to San Antonio City Hall to protest Trump administration policies on immigration and trans rights.
At the time, district officials said that leaving campus without permission was a violation of the student code of conduct, with consequences at the discretion of the principal.
The organizers behind the February protest also do not appear to be involved with any plans for October 7.
Correction: An earlier report incorrectly stated the location of the San Antonio for Justice in Palestine rally. The correct location is San Pedro Spring Park.
