The state Department of Education is advising schools statewide to create a “designated walkout area” for students who want to participate in upcoming protests against gun violence, Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said in a Friday letter to parents.
On March 14, students throughout the country are announcing plans on social media to participate in National School Walkout Day. The protest is slated to begin at 10 a.m. and will last for 17 minutes to honor the lives of the 17 people who died in the recent school shooting at a Florida high school.
On April 20, a second protest is planned at 10 a.m. on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado.
The DOE “supports students’ constitutional rights to a peaceful assembly and free expression,” Kishimoto said in the letter, though “disorderly conduct that disrupts school operations is not acceptable and will be appropriately handled in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct.”
Additionally, Kishimoto said students who leave campus during the event will be marked with an “unexcused tardiness or absence.” She said participation in any walkout is voluntary and the DOE advises schools to “encourage students to use the time to share ideas for improving campus safety, security and culture.”
Some schools on the mainland have said they will penalize students who are part of the protests. A school district in Texas said it will suspend any student who participates in a walkout.
“That’s exactly the opposite of what we want to do,” Chad “Keone” Farias, superintendent of the Ka‘u-Keaau-Pahoa Complex Area, said Friday about the penalties.
Farias said he’s not sure how many students locally plan to participate. He said East Hawaii principals were sent guidance about the event and are being encouraged to respect students’ right to participate while also making sure any planned protest activities are safe and don’t break school rules.
“The last thing we want to do is discipline,” Farias said. “As educators, we want to respect that kids have this right to participate in this responsible civic activity to voice their concerns that we need to bring school violence into the light. This is not a place students should feel unsafe. This is where they should feel most safe.”
Hilo High School is encouraging students to gather on the campus patio during the designated walkout time, principal Bob Dircks told the Tribune-Herald on Friday.
He said students will be encouraged to write out any comments or concerns about gun violence and read them aloud — if they wish — during the event, which falls during Hilo High’s lunch recess. He said Hilo High’s walkout is largely being organized by a student leader.
“So, it will be a means to share their thoughts and their voices, and it will be peaceful and won’t take away from academic time,” Dircks said. “Which I think is a very good call on the students’ part. … But this has got to be student-driven. It can’t be something the adults come up with.”
Other principals said Friday they are discussing walkout events with their student leadership and hope to have plans in place next week.
Kishimoto said in the letter there have been more than a dozen school threats in Hawaii since January. She said none of those were credible and the majority were made on social media.
Pahoa, Keaau and Konawaena high schools were among campuses that received threats. The threats spurred police to increase their presence at the high schools.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
“The last thing we want to do is discipline.” Speaks volumes!
Taken out of context. Good job. What the superintendent said is that she doesn’t want to discipline kids for a peaceful protest. If they get out of line, however, discipline will be handed down. What are you, Fox News?
Why don’t we mandate for every minute these students walk out they need to write a single space essay on why they think Amrerica is the Great nation it is? They are supposed to be in school learning not protesting. Who is running this country a bunch of disrespectful youths? They will have plenty of time to protest when they turn 18 and are adults. I hope the Federal Government looks at this as a sick/truancy day and the schools loose funding for that day. Perhaps the people who are supposed to be running these supposed learning institutions would understand if they lost money.
We could also require that each elected member of congress write a 10,000 word essay as to what they could have done to prevent each school child from being shot.
Given your screen name and your horrible spelling and punctuation, you should be the one in school, sir. Kids are the ones being shot at school. Protesting is a form of self-expression. Kids need to express themselves as well as learn how to read and do math.
@ Tare Me Big Dummy….Think my “screem name” is not there to stir the pot? You are part of the problem thinking young middle and high school students should be setting policy.
I don’t think kids should be setting policy, but their voices are important and they should be heard. The walkout is nationwide! If my high school aged child chooses to walk out and doesn’t cause trouble, I will support him. If he causes problems, there will be discipline at home as well as at school.
A ‘walkout’ to protest anything is a waste of time an makes these kids feel like they actually have power to make changes. Kids today have no clue what it’s like to be faced with discipline and accept responsibility for their actions. They won’t tell on their classmates because they are then ‘snitches’ (or whatever the latest term is) and will look bad in the face of others. THAT is why we are having so many shootings across America. They lack the common sense to realize that they are putting their own lives in danger by keeping their mouths shut.. THAT is what they should be protesting, the ignorance of their fellow students.