Free speech win: California high school reverses suspension over pro-ICE flyers

A California high school has expunged the suspension of a student who posted pro-ICE flyers, drawing scrutiny over free speech and viewpoint discrimination.

Torrey Pines High School in San Diego changed course after the student, a junior, obtained representation from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The group said the school had allowed a midday walkout protest against ICE two weeks earlier.

Students “held posters displaying statements including, ‘If You’re an I.C.E. Agent Ya Mom’s a Hoe!!,’ ‘F*CK ICE,’ and ‘ICE is KKK spelled differently,’” FIRE said in a release. “Yet two weeks later, the school suspended a student for posting pro-ICE flyers reading ‘We ❤️ I.C.E. – Real Americans.’

“The school claimed the flyers, which caused no disruption at the school – and were displayed in a common area where other students have posted political material –nevertheless constituted ‘harassment’ and ‘intimidation.’”

Applying public pressure

After Libs of TikTok posted about the suspension March 4, including Principal Robert Coppo’s email address, Coppo publicly defended the decision the next day.

“It has been suggested that disciplinary actions were taken based on political viewpoints,” Coppo wrote. “This is inaccurate. At Torrey Pines, we value the diverse perspectives of our student body and do not discipline students for expressing their beliefs.

“Our priority is maintaining a campus that is safe, orderly, and respectful for every student,” he continued. “When behaviors cross the line into harassment or disrupt the learning environment, we must step in to ensure that school remains a place where everyone feels they belong. We apply our conduct rules consistently and fairly, without regard to a student’s personal or political views.”

A week later, Coppo announced he would leave the school after 40 years, retiring at the end of the school year. His resignation letter did not mention the controversy, though he acknowledged in an earlier post “significant conversation on social media” about the suspension.

Conor Fitzpatrick, a supervising senior attorney at FIRE, said “school administrators can’t pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express. Voicing an opinion which makes others upset is not ‘harassment’ or ‘intimidation,’ it is American democracy in action.”

He added FIRE would be “watching closely to ensure the school respects its students’ First Amendment rights.”

“The law is clear: Public schools must allow students to peacefully express their political opinions.”

School districts have responded to student protests in different ways. St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota began marking students absent if they left to protest ICE. Other schools allowed the protests, with teachers acting as bystanders, observers or even instigators.

In response, officials in Kansas, Texas, Florida and other Republican-led states have issued guidance or advanced legislation penalizing districts that allow students to walk out without parental consent.