Retired Twin Falls Cop Calls Out Schools Over Walkout

Lee DeVore is one of the most respected individuals to have ever worked in Idaho law enforcement.  He served as chief of police in Twin Falls, and before that, he investigated crime in Southern California.  He has written books about some of the nation’s most infamous crimes.

Chief DeVore Weighs In

This week, he weighed in on a student walkout at one Twin Falls high school.  Last week, a group left the Canyon Ridge campus to march for several blocks and denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The school district explained the situation by arguing that a Supreme Court of the United States ruling ties the hands of the administration.  DeVore listened to my program this week, as the school board president offered the dilemma.  Then the chief dropped me an email.

I am familiar with the case of the United States Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District from 1969, but certainly not an expert. I believe that it does not address leaving the campus to demonstrate on the public streets during school hours. The court addressed the issue of students not losing their First Amendment protections simply by stepping onto school property, and according to the other cases that followed Tinker, many of the matters Tinker addressed were addressed and modified. I found no cases where it addressed students going off the campus and demonstrating for any purpose. Tinker clearly only addressed their rights while on the school property and not at any other time. I could find no other cases where this issue was ever discussed at all.

This Wasn't Personal

The chief also said he knows Board President Eric Smallwood and that he’s a nice guy.  I would agree.  I’m not in agreement with district policy, but I also admired that Mr. Smallwood didn’t pander to anyone while he was on-air.  This is a hugely important issue for local education, because we can’t have anarchy.  Let’s keep the dialogue open and find a solution.