KCK high school students walk out to protest state crackdown on student protests
Dozens of high school students at Washington High School in Kansas City, Kansas, walked out of class on Monday and Tuesday to protest a new provision in the state budget that aims to crack down on student protests during the school day.
“As soon as I saw this (amendment) had been passed, I just kind of felt that it was very important that the students understood what it all entailed, and that it was just something that we needed to protest,” said Andrew Colwell, a senior at Washington.
Under the new state budget amendment, Kansas school districts could face fines equal to the superintendent’s annual base salary for “each school day that a district experiences a student walkout” if districts fail to discipline students or get written parent permission for each student who participates.
Those new requirements don’t go into effect until July 1, but if students were to participate in a similar demonstration next school year, Kansas City Kansas Public Schools could be forced to pay more than $280,000.
“Getting your voice out there gets results,” Colwell said. “And so with this bill, kind of silencing that I just felt like … it wasn’t OK for the students to not be able to have a voice.”
Under the budget language, fines could only be levied if staff members “encourage, facilitate or enable” a protest or walkout — a determination that the state school board would have to make after receiving a complaint.
The requirements came forward as a provision in next year’s state budget without a hearing or formal review. Republican lawmakers used their supermajority to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the provision.
“I just feel like it could lead to a lot of problems, so I didn’t feel comfortable with that (provision) really in place at all,” Colwell said. “I especially didn’t like how they kind of nestled it into a larger bill, mostly about the budget. I just felt like it was just kind of slipped in there.”
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools spokesperson Edwin Birch said that the district respected the students’ rights to “express their views and engage in civic issues that matter to them.”
“Our priority remains ensuring student safety and maintaining a focused learning environment for all students,” he said.
Raising their voices
Earlier this year, students throughout the KC metro, including at Washington, mobilized to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in their communities by walking out of classes during the school day.
“I think it’s a good experience to get involved in things as well, because if you don’t learn to speak up for what you think, then later you’re not going to really develop opinions,” said Ana Tyx, a freshman at Washington. “To be a well-rounded adult, (it’s important) to be able to think for yourself and have your own conclusions and not let others tell you what to do.”
Tyx said she participated in Washington’s two-day protests and in the students’ previous protests around federal immigration enforcement activity.
“I think it’s really good to stand up as a student body, especially when we’re so diverse, because it’s just important, in my opinion, to see all of these different perspectives and all of these different voices,” she said.
The state’s crackdown came after backlash over a series of student walkouts at Olathe Public Schools, including a demonstration at Olathe Northwest High School that ended in four arrests after pro- and anti-ICE protesters clashed just off of school grounds.
Colwell said he helped spread the word about Washington’s previous protests, but this time, he felt like he needed to lead the charge. He organized two days of protests to help keep attention on the matter.
“With this next generation leaving high school soon and getting at that age to vote, it’s very important that they stay educated and I feel like these protests really spread the word,” he said.
