"They don't appear to be in school at all, at the moment."
Only to a simple minded cretin. In fact, they are getting the education of a lifetime.
Amen to that!!! My two cents, since everybody else is giving theirs, I would do this with my kids in a second. I don't even care if it is "grandstanding". You've got to have the guts to act on what you think is right and this is a great opportunity for action because somebody is being treated in an inhumane way. A lot of things that are right are not popular. Most "learning" happens out of school.
"In fact, they are getting the education of a lifetime."
I've heard jail can do that to ya.