Ahead of Wednesday’s 17-minute walkout by high school students nationwide, to call for stricter gun control laws and remember those killed in the massacre in Parkland, Florida last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is providing legal resources to the students and urging administrators against punishing participants.
“The impulse to discipline and control young people may come from the desire to avoid a contentious conversation in the short term, but resorting to punishment doesn’t solve the problem, and it doesn’t keep kids safe,” staff attorney Sarah Hinger wrote for the ACLU’s blog on Monday.
“Public school is the place where students experience and interact with government, learn through discussion and debate with other students from differing backgrounds, and build the foundation for participation in a democratic society,” Hinger noted.
“Rather than seeking to silence students’ political engagement and quashing their desire for conversation,” she concluded, “schools can approach this moment as an opportunity for learning about civic action.”
The students, who plan to walk out of classrooms across the country at 10 am local time despite disciplinary threats from administrators, are pushing for real solutions to gun violence in the form of state and federal legislation. Organizers are encouraging parents, teachers, and school staff to participate.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT