Los Angeles High School teacher fired for protecting his students during student walkouts

Hundreds of students at Synergy Quantum Academy (SQA) High School joined schools across Los Angeles in a walkout on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, to protest ongoing ICE raids. Ricardo Lopez, a Los Angeles high school teacher, was terminated the next day after intervening to protect students during a second walkout attempt.

Students, parents and community members are now organizing a rally and press conference outside SQA High School to demand Lopez’s immediate reinstatement. Union del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators will stand in solidarity with the educator.

During the first walkout, SQA administrators refused to open the gates and students had to climb and jump over to exit the campus. Students suffered multiple injuries, including cuts to their hands and twisted ankles.

Lopez was terminated for prioritizing student safety during a second walkout on February 5. After witnessing a student attempting to jump the school gate and fully aware that students had been injured the day before, Lopez, who was the closest staff adult in proximity to the gate, made the responsible decision to open the gate, preventing further harm and ensuring students could exit safely. 

When Lopez opened the gate, he was in front of other administrators who never told him not to open it. About an hour later, he was terminated and escorted off the campus in front of his students, according to Union Del Barrio.

“I saw students who were hopping the gate and that’s really dangerous. And seeing other students attempting to hop the gate, I felt the safest thing to do at that moment was to open the gate to ensure their safety. I was just worried that they would get hurt jumping the gate again,” he said.

To protest his firing, about 70% of SQA students walked out again on Friday, February 6 and on Monday, February 9, demanding that their teacher be returned to their school. For those two walkouts, SQA administrators decided to open the gates to let the students out safely.

One SQA student stated, “Instead of supporting our teachers who are trying to protect us, Synergy decided to fire Mr. Lopez and that’s not right! We will continue to protest for him until he is back at our school.”

Union del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators, along with other organizations and community members, will also be present at 4 p.m. to demand the immediate reinstatement of Mr. Lopez.