KC students punished for walkout should wear truancy warnings as a badge of honor
Two questions were raised after administrators at Park Hill High School took a hardline approach to the National School Walkout: Did officials violate students’ First Amendment rights by handing out punishment? And was it a good idea to reprimand the young people who took part?
Administrators can defend their decision to err on the side of discipline because students missed class time, and walking out of school, even as a form of speech, does not protect students from being punished for doing so.
But that doesn’t mean the school did the right thing by issuing truancy warnings to close to 150 students who walked out of class Wednesday to honor the 17 people killed in the Parkland, Fla., school shooting one month ago.
After all, thousands of other students in the Kansas City metro area and across the country walked out with school officials’ blessings to protest gun violence and call for the nation’s leaders to pass stricter gun laws.
Other schools approached this as a valuable learning experience. Park Hill should have followed suit. The students there simply memorialized the victims by tying 17 balloons to a flag pole and giving speeches during the 17-minute span. Then they returned to class.
Violators were given a verbal warning. And Principal Brad Kincheloe gave them the option of meeting after school for group or individual conferences, as well as an opportunity to provide a written explanation about their decision.
As one student said, to punish 150 kids for respectfully standing up for what they believe in doesn’t seem just. The punishment would have been understandable if students had been disruptive or had failed to head back to class promptly.
Civil disobedience sometimes has consequences, though, and some students learned that the hard way. But their willingness to take a peaceful and constructive stand should be commended.
It takes moral courage to walk out or protest. And as the American Civil Liberties Union points out, the current wave of student activism is a rich part of American tradition.
Students no doubt learned from their first foray into civic engagement and perhaps will consider how they could effect change in the world.
Administrators’ threat of punishment should not discourage them from taking a stand or speaking out in the future. In fact, Park Hill students should wear their activism — and their truancy warnings — as badges of honor.
As Tony Rothert, legal director of ACLU-Missouri said, schools can discipline students for missing class but they cannot punish them for their politics or the message behind their actions.
Nor can they take away students’ rights to be heard.
This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 5:37 PM with the headline "KC students punished for walkout should wear truancy warnings as a badge of honor."