The Clovis Police Department and Clovis Unified School District (CUSD) sent out a press release on Wednesday evening regarding the Feb. 10 Clovis school walkouts, when hundreds of students left their respective campuses to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations.

In the statement, Clovis Police and CUSD officials say that multiple adults were observed actively encouraging and facilitating the students walking out without authorization, which interferes with students’ education and places minors at risk. 

“These actions are unacceptable,” the statement reads.

Clovis Police have already identified two adults who were involved in the walkouts and are actively searching for more. Once identified, the statement says police plan to file misdemeanor charges for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. 

The statement cites California Education Code Section 48205 (a)(B), which allows middle or high school students to miss one day of school per year for civic engagement, only if they properly notify the school and follow the school’s normal check-out procedure. 

“In this instance, very few students followed that required process,” the press release says. “CUSD is currently identifying students who left campus without authorization and taking appropriate action for truancy enforcement.” 

The statement says the walkout was monitored with a network of around 500 cameras, and Clovis Police and CUSD were aware of the walkouts beforehand. They also said they respect the constitutional right to lawfully protest and express personal beliefs, but still condemned adults encouraging students to leave school without authorization.

“Adults must understand that using or encouraging students to leave school during instructional hours violates the law, disrupts their education, and, without supervision, jeopardizes their safety,” the statement reads. “Such conduct will not be tolerated.”