Texas school will suspend gun control protesters: ‘Here for education, not political protest’

1 hour

Hundreds of West Boca High School students arrive Tuesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after they walked there in honor of the 17 students shot dead last week in Parkland, Florida. A school district in Texas has threatened to suspend students who protest during school hours. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 

Aaron ColenSTAFF WRITER

Students who join in scheduled gun control protests and walk-outs during school hours will be suspended for three days, according to a letter from the superintendent of Needville Independent School District in Texas.

In the week since 17 people were killed during a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, gun control advocates have organized several national marches and other forms of protest calling for action by lawmakers.

What was in the letter?

Needville Superintendent Curtis Rhodes sent the following message to parents and students in a letter and on social media:

The Needville ISD is very sensitive to violence in schools including the recent incident in Florida. Anytime an individual deliberately chooses to harm others, we are sensitive and compassionate to those impacted. There is a “movement” attempting to stage walkouts/disruptions of the school through social media and/or other media outlets.

Please be advised that the Needville ISD will not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness!! Should students choose to do so, they will be suspended from school for 3 days and face all the consequences that come along with an out of school suspension. Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved. All will be suspended for 3 days and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline.

A school is a place to learn and grow educationally, emotionally and morally. A disruption of school will not be tolerated.

Respect yourself, your fellow students and the Needville Independent School District and please understand that we are here for an education and not a political protest.

When are the scheduled protests?

Students in Florida have planned the “March for our Lives” on March 24 in Washington, D.C.

The group that organized the Women’s March has planned a National School Walkout on March 14.

Another National School Walkout is planned for the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, April 20, organized by a student who lives near Sandy Hook Elementary, the site of a 2012 school shooting.

(H/T: Houston Chronicle)