How to disable text chat/mute players from text chat?

Hello,  I am running an IRL campaign in English class and wish to disable the chat completely. How might I do this? We are using physical dice and only using Roll20 for character sheets and maps. Thank you!

There might be an API script (pro subscription feature) that will do this otherwise there is no way to do this except to tell the students not to. You can minimize the tab area which includes the chat, the journal, art library, settings, and collection tabs by click/hold the small blue button on the side of the chat area and dragging it over to the right.

Unfortunately, not even an API script can do anything about this as it is unable to edit the chat history. Otherwise, Pat's suggestions are your best bet.

Could Stylus be used to hide the chat input box?

I don't want to minimize the tab area completely because they need access to their character sheet and handouts, etc. I don't need the chat feature except to display an action's description to the whole class. I'm interested in hiding the chat input box if that is possible. With Stylus, do you mean just drawing over it with the pen?

Stylus is an extension that allows you to alter the look of a web page at the client end only. It may be possible to set the chat input box to display=false or something like that so that the chat pane is visible but there is nowhere to type anything to send to it... this would stop you from sending anything to the chat directly but sheet rolls, token actions etc could still do it. Are the students all accessing the VTT or just yourself?