A statewide crackdown on educators encouraging student protests came after two Tampa Bay lawmakers sent a letter singling out one Hillsborough County principal and calling for an investigation on social media.
On Tuesday, Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas sent districts a letter saying “any conduct by school or district personnel that diverts students from instruction, undermines classroom authority or compromises student supervision violates professional responsibilities and warrants disciplinary action.”
The letter came shortly after Reps. Danny Alvarez, R-Riverview, and Michael Owen, R-Apollo Beach, wrote to the commissioner about “deeply troubling allegations” regarding a Jan. 30 student walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Ruskin’s Lennard High School.
Their letter, sent Tuesday, alleged that Lennard principal Denise Savino “called a faculty meeting to announce support for a national anti-ICE protest day” and that she instructed teachers “not to prevent students from leaving class” and “reportedly even suggested students could gather on the school football field.”
The letter called on the Department of Education to investigate the matter and “upon confirmation of these facts, to permanently revoke Principal Savino’s educator certificate.”
Alvarez and Owen wrote that they saw a “broader pattern of coordinated activist activity targeting Florida’s public schools” and included screenshots of a flyer about an anti-ICE protest at Largo High School and a First Amendment rights flyer distributed in Brevard County.
“A determined class of radical activists within our public education system continues to defy the law and will of the people,” the letter stated, pointing to Savino as one who exemplified the defiance.
Savino could not immediately be reached for comment. Pinellas superintendent Kevin Hendrick confirmed a student demonstration took place at Largo High School, but challenged the characterization of it as disruptive.
Hillsborough school board chairperson Karen Perez said the district was reviewing the situation.
School board member Jessica Vaughn said it was “irresponsible” and “bad leadership” for lawmakers to put a principal on blast on social media before getting all sides of the story.
Vaughn said she believed that the student-organized protests and walkouts that took place at Lennard and other schools across the state were part of a nationwide day of action against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She said she believed schools had been advised that policies are in place about attendance and what activities are permitted, but that their top priority was safety.
Hillsborough district spokesperson Tanya Arja said the district issued guidance to principals that it “does not approve or condone this type of activity on our school campuses. While we want to ensure students retain constitutional rights for free expression, we also must make sure any such activity does not interrupt instructional time, school operations, or campus safety.”
“You can’t physically stop children if that’s what they want to do,” Vaughn said. “You can’t put your hands on kids. If our kids are exercising their constitutional rights, our duty is to keep those kids safe. Period.”
Vaughn said she heard about 80 students at Lennard had initially walked out to the flagpole before the principal moved them to the football field, which she believed would be safer.
In an interview, Owen said the Department of Education was still in the “fact-finding” phase, and said his concerns weren’t content-based. He said it came to his attention after he heard concerns from constituents in his district.
“Obviously I disagree with the students, but that’s OK, right?” he said. “I want students to participate in political activities. But, for example, I’m a right-to-life guy. I would never tell students to protest on the taxpayers’ dime. This is a public school.”
Board member Patti Rendon said the district had a demonstration policy in place prior to last week’s protests. She said she believed district administrators should clearly convey how to balance the right to free expression and the right to a safe classroom, outlined in the policy, to school leaders.
“Students have that right, but we want to make sure that we respect everyone’s right not to interfere in their educational and instructional day,“ Rendon said.
She also noted that the rules should be applied equally.
“You cannot have 20 people walk out of a class on Friday and one person walk out because they’re upset about another issue on Monday, and not be treated equitably,” she said. “We need to make sure that we follow our policy and allow everyone to have equal access during educational instructional time.”
Vaughn said protests have taken place at schools for years — some in support of President Donald Trump or the Second Amendment — but no legislator had taken note. She also questioned why one school was targeted when protests took place Friday across the state and others have been planned for this week.
“The principal doesn’t deserve this,” she said. “They’re able to terrorize and demonize someone on social media. We’ve completely accepted the fact that due process isn’t a guaranteed right anymore.”
Owen said he believed districts needed to follow their own rules and penalize students for leaving class.
“There has to be repercussions for students, and there should definitely be repercussions for staff that allows it and even promotes it,” he said. “This is taxpayer dollars. When you’re in a public school, they get funding from the state and the county. If they want to continue to get that funding, they need to not participate in the political processes. As a matter of fact, they need to concentrate on math and English.”
Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report.
Divya Kumar is a reporter covering education as a member of the Tampa Bay Times Education Hub. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund by clicking here.
