District officials say they have not identified organizers but believe they are impersonating a student organization.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Independent School District is alerting families about a possible student-led protest planned for Tuesday that could involve armed participants. Some social media posts discovered by KENS 5 have suggested the event could be a pro-Palestine rally, marking two years since the war in Gaza began.
The district sent a letter to families on Thursday, stressing SAISD supports students exercising their First Amendment rights, safety remains the district’s top priority. The district did not specify in the letter the purpose of the protest. The letter was addressed to families of students attending Advanced Learning Academy-Tech, CAST Tech and Fox Tech high schools.
“Our concern is solely for student safety based on credible evidence that protestors may have firearms in their possession,” the letter states.
In an emailed statement, an SAISD spokesperson said:
“Our SAISD Police Department became aware of the social media activity around the protest and considered it a potential threat to our students. SAPD also is aware of the social media activity.”
According to the letter, district officials are not aware of who is hosting the potential protest, but based on information SAISD gathered from law enforcement, the organizers have impersonated a school organization.
Families are being asked to talk with their children about the risks and to discourage participation because of safety concerns.
The district noted that staff will not escort students to demonstrations and that only law enforcement will be present to monitor the situation. Students who leave campus to take part in the protest will face disciplinary consequences under the district’s code of conduct and extracurricular activity rules.
The district said it has requested support from the Southwest Texas Fusion Center, an inter-agency law enforcement team, to closely monitor developments.
“Student safety is our highest priority at SAISD schools, and we want to keep families informed of situations with accurate information,” district leaders stated. “We are committed to keeping you updated as more information is available from law enforcement.”
San Antonio police emailed KENS 5 a statement, affirming their commitment to “protecting the constitutional rights of individuals and groups to conduct peaceful and lawful demonstrations. SAPD will have a police presence for the safety of those peacefully protesting.”