IRVINE, CALIF. – Around 300 students from Irvine High School, Northwood High School and Portola High School, in Irvine, are expected to participate in a non-school-affiliated walkout on Feb. 27 as part of a statewide protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and racist policing.
The statewide protest is organized by California Youth Unite (CAYU), a student-run coalition of 35+ high schools and colleges from San Diego to Sacramento, with endorsement from 15+ grassroots organizations. Students initiated CAYU after the national shutdown on Jan. 30, 2026 to amplify students’ opposition to detention, deportation, and policing. Students in Irvine are organizing as Irvine Youth Unite, a chapter of California Youth Unite, with on-the-ground support from several Orange County organizations.
Students in Irvine will meet at Jeffrey Rd. & Roosevelt for student speeches, then line up from Jeffrey Rd & Roosevelt to Jeffrey Rd & Santa Ana Fwy. for a banner drop with support from OC Banner Drop for Palestine.
The students’ demands are as follows:
- Abolish ICE and ensure transparent city/state law enforcement policies
- Protect free speech
- Divest from policing, invest in communities: Defund mass incarceration, policing, and militarization; increase funding to all community member’s basic needs: accessible, quality, and affordable food, water, healthcare, housing, public transport, etc.
February is Black History Month, so students chose Feb. 27 to demand the abolition of ICE along with all racist policing and incarceration. CAYU stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter because all racist violence is connected—chattel slavery, lynchings, racial pogroms, forced prison labor, mass policing and surveillance, incarceration, detention, deportation, genocide, land theft, and denial of our basic needs. This movement exists because of Black people’s ongoing resistance, storytelling, and creativity; it is the duty of youth to advance this fight for freedom.
The student-led walkout planned for February 27, 2026, in Irvine is part of a broader wave of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Southern California. While students have a constitutional right to free expression, walking out during instructional time is generally considered a disruption, allowing schools to apply standard disciplinary rules.
Potential Effects on Students
- Disciplinary Action: Students can be disciplined for leaving class without permission, though the punishment cannot be harsher than what is typical for an unexcused absence.
- In previous Irvine walkouts, students were required to attend a 30-minute informal “detention” to discuss their experience.
- While some districts in California have opted not to punish participants, others have issued detentions or suspensions specifically for the act of skipping class.
- Attendance Records: Walking out is typically marked as an unexcused absence or tardy. Under California law, missing a single class does not make a student “truant” (which requires three full-day unexcused absences), but it can contribute to a student’s overall disciplinary history.
- Safety Concerns: Schools and law enforcement, including the LAPD, have warned that minors in public places during school hours may be in violation of daytime curfews.
Potential Effects on Schools
- Funding Impact: California funding is based on Average Daily Attendance (ADA).
- Partial Day: If a student attends at least one portion of the school day before walking out, the school can still claim full state funding for that student.
- Full Day: If students skip the entire day, the school loses its per-pupil funding for that day.
- Operational Disruption: Schools must remain open and continue normal operations for students who do not participate. Staff are generally instructed not to physically restrain students from leaving but must follow safety protocols, such as notifying parents and coordinating with local police for traffic safety.
- Community Division: Administrators often face pressure to maintain a “unified campus” while balancing diverse political perspectives among families and the community.