Students are walking out of class at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes in remembrance of the 17 victims of the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., exactly one month ago.
The organizer of the event, Empower, the youth branch of the Women’s March, is urging Congress to ban assault weapons, require universal background checks before gun sales, and allow courts to disarm people who display violent behavior.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand said “FCPS does not oppose, nor endorse, this call to action.” Noting that students have free speech rights, he said, “students have the right to participate as long as their activities do not disrupt the instructional day.”
Brabrand suggested principals “work with students to find peaceful and safe opportunities to facilitate the observance while minimizing disruption.” Students who go beyond the planned 17-minute observance or exhibit inappropriate behavior may be subject to discipline.
An online announcement posted by students at JEB Stuart High School calls for students to join the walkout “to protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to the gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods.” It says, “Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on the way home from school.”
Stuart Principal Penny Gros adjusted the school schedule slightly to minimize the loss of instructional time. “We recognize the desire of some students to lend their voice to this important national conversation in this way,” Gros said. “We are working with student leaders to conduct an orderly and peaceful observation of these 17 minutes by those students who choose to do so.”
While the walkouts are designed for middle and high school students, some younger students have expressed interest in participating.
Camelot Elementary School Principal Aileen Flaherty informed the Camelot community that after questions about the walkout had been raised by some upper-grade students and parents, she “had a short discussion with students in grades 4-6 about the national walkout, as we recognize the desire of students to lend their voice to this important national conversation.”
Flaherty advised students in grades 4-6 to discuss the issue with their parents and told them they will not “be in trouble for choosing to participate.”
Legally, school administrators have the authority to discipline students for walking out of school, but only if they can demonstrate that the students’ conduct materially and substantially disrupted the educational program or interfered with other students’ rights.