A Rancho High School social studies teacher who also serves in the Nevada Assembly is facing criticism after publicly praising students who walked out of class to protest recent immigration enforcement actions.
Reuben D’Silva, first elected to the Nevada Assembly in 2022, posted a video to Instagram commending students who marched outside the school in response to the reported killing of two people in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The protest followed heightened tensions on campus after federal agents recently detained an undocumented immigrant near Rancho High during student pick-up time, an incident that unsettled some students.
In the video, D’Silva expressed pride in the students who participated and framed the walkout as an example of civic engagement in action. As a government and social studies teacher, he characterized student participation in public demonstrations as consistent with the goals of civics education, which he said aims to prepare young people for involvement in the democratic process.
His remarks drew swift criticism from Moms for Liberty, which issued a bulletin urging members to file complaints with the Clark County School District, the Nevada Ethics Commission, and the Nevada Legislature.
The group alleged that D’Silva used his position as a teacher to promote a political protest and criticized him for recording and sharing a video from inside a classroom setting. The bulletin characterized his actions as political activism conducted on taxpayer time and argued that students were encouraged to miss instructional time for a partisan cause.
D’Silva has denied those allegations, stating he did not discuss Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Minneapolis incident, or the walkout with his students.
Moms for Liberty Clark County Chair Yadusha Jones said the central concern is that a teacher publicly endorsed students leaving class to protest rather than focusing solely on instruction. She argued that students may not fully understand the complexities of federal immigration policy and described the demonstration as disruptive rather than an exercise of free speech within the school context.
Members of the group have attended public meetings to voice their concerns and have called for D’Silva to resign from his teaching position or be removed by the district. Jones said educators who also serve in elected office must clearly separate their political roles from their responsibilities in the classroom.
D’Silva has maintained that he stands by his comments and views student engagement in civic life as a positive outcome of education. He also suggested that the criticism is an attempt to discourage teachers from expressing viewpoints outside of classroom instruction and said that political issues inevitably affect students and school communities.
The Clark County School District, in a statement, said that it is aware of the controversy and confirmed that D’Silva remains assigned as a teacher at Rancho High School. D’Silva said he has not faced disciplinary action.
He also indicated that he would respond similarly if students organized a walkout in support of stricter immigration enforcement policies, claiming he supports student expression and participation in civic life regardless of his personal views.
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