Olathe school protest ended in arrests. What’s district policy on walkouts?
After a fight broke out at an Olathe high school last month during a student-led protest, state senators representing parts of Johnson County are clashing with the school district over its policies on student-led demonstrations.
A statement signed by Sen. Doug Shane and Sen. Beverly Gossage on Feb. 24 called the incident a “breakdown of decorum and dialogue in (Kansas) public schools,” calling for changes to prevent harm to students at future walkouts.
Officers were called to Olathe Northwest High School just after 2 p.m. Feb. 20, following reports of a physical altercation. Four students were taken into custody and cited. A 17-year-old boy was charged with aggravated battery. Another 17-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy and 18-year-old female were cited and released, according to an Olathe Police Department spokesman.
School officials said the fight happened between two groups of students who had planned walkouts, one to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and another showing their support for the Trump Administration.
Shane said his constituents called with concerns about school district policies, student safety and how walkouts could disrupt learning for those not participating.
Shane, representing Kansas’ 37th District, said in a phone call last week that his co-statement with Gossage wasn’t meant to attack the district, but to show that he takes issue with how the administration handled the protest.
Although the students in question were at the high school level, Shane said he believes parental consent should be required for a student to participate in a walkout.
“Although parents were notified that the walkout was going to happen or potentially going to happen, there wasn’t an attempt to get parental consent for a child to leave the building,” Shane said. “And I do see that as a concern, because these are minors... and ultimately, at least a handful of them left school grounds.”
Students rights to protest
Walkouts led by students across the Kansas City metro have put a local lens on the broader conversation about national immigration enforcement.
Apart from the Feb. 20 walkout, students in Olathe Public Schools engaged in a number of other demonstrations last month that remained peaceful. While students have been voicing their opinions, community members have been doing the same online in response.
In a phone call last week, Shane said he has received calls from constituents who are worried about how perceived unrest is affecting the local community.
“We have to disagree better,” Shane said, adding that he supports students’ right to free speech, but violence can’t be tolerated.
An email sent to Olathe Schools families Feb. 23 detailed students’ constitutional right to participate in walkouts and other demonstrations. The email from Superintendent Brent Yeager quoted the landmark 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, which holds that students and teachers do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
Schools can limit speech that causes a “material and substantial disruption” to the educational process or if it violates the rights of others.
Yeager said in the email that the district does not condone violence of any kind, and that any unlawful activity on school grounds will be referred to law enforcement.
Policies about student demonstrations
When Olathe Schools leaders become aware of a student-led walkout, administration notifies parents and guardians of all students, a district spokesperson said.
The district also records all absences, which are subject to consequences under the Code of Student Conduct. Parents and guardians are notified if their child was marked absent.
Walkouts or protests are then monitored by school staff and the district’s safety services team to help ensure safety, not to express support or opposition, a district spokesperson said.
Students are not encouraged to leave school grounds. But if they do, especially in large groups, direct supervision is no longer guaranteed, the district said.
School staff cannot physically restrain students unless there is an immediate safety threat.
“As a public school system, we must balance compliance with the law with safety and student accountability,” the district said in an email. “We believe the best and safest place for our students is learning in our classrooms.”
Shane said that he wants the district to implement stricter enforcement of its existing expectations, but he couldn’t say what that should look like.
“There is a legal expectation that students are in the classroom and that schools enforce policy to ensure that the learning environment is not disrupted,” Shane said.
A district spokesperson said in email that Shane and Gossage did not attempt to reach district administration before releasing their statement about the walkout Feb. 24. The superintendent received an email from Shane three minutes before the statement was made public, the spokesperson said.
“Their choice to make a public statement without first seeking an understanding of the facts from all parties involved not only feels irresponsible to our shared community of constituents, but also leads us to believe that their intentions to release a statement were disingenuous,” the district said in an email .
Despite the clash, Olathe Schools said the offer to discuss concerns with legislators and constituents remains open.
“The district’s commitment to transparency and the offer to meet with our legislators regarding any concerns is still open and on the table should they reach out,” the email read.
