Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) School districts across the region are putting plans in place should plans among students materialize for mass walkouts and demonstrations Wednesday, marking the one-month anniversary of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Several school spokespeople, speaking to WMAL, said they are encouraging students to remain on campus during their gatherings.
“Staying on school property is a must because that’s the way we can ensure their safety,” Prince William Schools spokesman Phil Kavits said. “We are attempting to give students an opportunity to be heard, to exercise their rights to free speech and demonstration, but at the same time to keep themselves safe by remaining on campus.”
Kavits said students will face “some disciplinary consequences” should they leave campus without permission.
Similar sentiments were expressed in Montgomery and Prince George’s County.
“We certainly understand why our students want to participate in these protests and we want them to have an opportunity to have their voices heard, but what’s important to us is ensuring their safety,” Montgomery County Schools spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said. “We are encouraging students not to leave school property. We can’t ensure their safety once they leave the school building or once they leave the school campus.”
She said school officials are working with students to develop other methods of civil discourse, including walking around the school building, track, or field.
In Prince George’s County, spokesman John White said there is specific time carved out for students to be heard.
“We will allow students the right to free speech and the right to civil assembly between 10:00 a.m. and 10:17, and then students will return to class and continue with their day,” White said. “We support freedom of speech and civil student assembly, but we want to work with our students to keep them safe.”
Both Onijala and White said if students leaving school grounds, it will be marked an unexcused absence.
In the District, school principals have warned parents that their children will be marked as absent if they walkout, but parents are being allowed to send in a note granting permission for their child to participate in any protests.
Fairfax County – the region’s largest school system – is largely trying to downplay the Wednesday event, saying it neither opposes nor endorses it. In a letter to families and staff, School Superintendent Scott Brabrand encouraged principals at middle and high schools to work with students to find peaceful and safe ways to protest. Teachers have been directed to remain in class with students who do not participate in the walkout. .
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