Posted on 12/28/2019 1:00:02 PM PST by LibWhacker
Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools has implemented a landmark policy allowing students to take time off to participate in protests.
Beginning Jan. 27, the school district will allow students in seventh through 12th grades one excused absence per year to participate in "civic engagement activities," according to multiple news outlets.
Fairfax School Board member Ryan McElveen, who reportedly introduced the policy, said the rule may be the first of its kind in the U.S. and was made in response to a recent wave of student activism across the country.
"I think we're setting the stage for the rest of the nation with this," McElveen told The Washington Post, who first reported the news. "It's a dawning of a new day in student activism, and school systems everywhere are going to have to be responsive to it."
Experts told the Post that the practice of skipping school to attend protests tends to left-leaning causes, such as climate change and gun control.
"People who call themselves conservatives probably do still count respecting authority - staying in school - as a crucial and central tenet of the social order," said Thai Jones, a lecturer at Columbia University who studies radical social movements.
However, school administrators maintained that the policy was designed to be as neutral as possible.
One administrator told the Post that all students have to fill out a form at least two days ahead of their planned absence explaining why they plan to miss school. Students are also required to get permission from a parent or guardian and stop by their school campus at least once during the day of their planned absence.
Fairfax County Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the country, with more than 180,000 students.
The school district's move comes in light of a rise of youth-led activist groups like the Sunrise Movement, which has championed the Green New Deal. The progressive proposal is supported by most 2020 Democrats and seeks to eliminate U.S. carbon emissions by 2030.
I’ll bet the school administrators heads will explode when some students take a day off to protest on behalf of the second amendment sanctuary counties.
With these kind of school districts it’s NOT surprising that SO MANY Americans (here included) simply never learned to read, write or spell.
Cheaper than busing in paid protesters.
Well, since civics is no longer taught in schools, to acquaint students with the rudiments of how government works, perhaps a little field trip experience will take its place. As the operations of government have evolved from sober and introspective application of the rules, to mostly a mob demonstrating, this is pretty much in keeping with the times.
(Oh, hell, do I HAVE to put on the < /sarcasm > tag EVERY time?)
Yeah, and the information will go in their file which may affect college admissions, and someday maybe even future employment.
Can you take the day off to go to the school board offices and protest this policy?
When the students schedule political protests every day the administrators will figure out what fools they've been.
Hitler said, he didn’t need the adults. He already had the kids.
Until the left’s stranglehold on educ is removed, America will just continue to veer hard left.
UHURU.
Every Friday
I wonder if they also excuse skipping class for pro-life demonstrations?
There’s a reason why Bill Ayers became a “respected educator” of teachers rather than continue making bombs.
...or attending a Trump Rally.
The Californication of the Old Dominion.
This is about state aid if VA allows districts to get it for students with excused absences.
Sure. Just see what happens if someone takes off for a Trump rally.
Are ALL protest permitted EXCEPT for TRUMP?
I call LAWSUIT!
The students are not voters. This means that organizations are engaging in child abuse and child labor law violations whereby the violated children are permitted to demonstrate their abuse publicly and legislators are all on board with this.
I actually have little issue with this provided that it’s not just a free day off. The students need to also write an essay report up on what they learned from the experience and why they thought it was worth the effort to be there.
I bet not so many would take this day off if they thought of it as additional schoolwork.
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