school districts and administrators are working hard to scare students out of protesting in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
don’t fall for their bullshit. you have the right to speak up and make yourself heard. a local superintendent doesn’t overrule the first amendment, much as they might like to.
and here’s an open invitation: I’m a teacher, recent PhD, one-time educational administrator (although not in a public school), and hopefully soon to be a college professor. if you need advice on navigating the crap your school is giving you or minimizing the impact they can have on your chances of getting into the college of your dreams, message me. I’ll help you find legal resources, write admissions essays, find ways to argue for your right to protest to your school board – whatever I can do.
please signal boost this, and if you’re someone who can help (civil rights lawyer? college admissions counsellor? experienced activist leader?), join in and let young activists know what you can do to help.
Question! Do you need to inform administration before a walkout?
I’m not an expert on the legal aspect, but as far as I know, no. the only legal power schools have over student speech comes if they can claim that you are disrupting educational activities, so if you were planning an event of some kind at the school during school hours, you would have to get permission from the school administration, but calmly and quietly leaving school grounds is not the same. you are up against truancy laws there, and they can impose punishments after the fact for absence from class, but most states have laws or at least past court decisions that establish suspensions are not an appropriate response to a first-time unexcused absence.
Can you tell us anything more about the walkouts? Or anything else at all we can do without jeopardizing our “safety” in the school?
my biggest piece of advice is safety in numbers. it’s easy to suspend one student, even if it’s illegal. or even ten. but if half the students coordinate a time to walk out, the administration is going to have a hard time taking that kind of action. you’ll also have an easier time getting past any teachers who might try to physically keep you in school (it’s happened), and local law enforcement will have a harder time quietly rounding you up as “truants” and taking you back to school.
also, as much as possible, get your parents on side. there’s literally nothing a principal is more terrified of than angry parents. I can tell you that right now, what hundreds of principals around the country are having nightmares about is dealing with a parade of soccer moms who suddenly have the ACLU on speed dial.
also, make sure your actions inside the school are as peaceful and non-disruptive as possible. hold a walkout, and protest on public property away from the school. the law says your free speech rights in your school can be limited so that you don’t interfere with the school’s educational activities, so if you are quiet and calm as you leave and hold your protest off school grounds, they have far less legal ammunition to try to interfere.
hope that helps! as always, follow other safety tips for protesting, like bringing water and avoiding confrontation with law enforcement.
Not sure if this helps, but as someone who did a walk out and it didn’t anything but make people upset.
Figure out what to do after the walk out!
Make sure you have a plan what to do with the group that leaves, don’t follow someone blindly cause you could end up in a riot you didn’t want and getting the police on your back.
Go to city council, but stay organized. There is going to be a group of students who just want to get out of school, let them.
Walking out is a good move, however what you do afterwards is what will make it a succes or not.
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