Virginia pupils given annual day off to go on protest march

A SCHOOL district in Virginia is to allow students a day off from their classes in order to attend protests.

Fairfax County will permit students aged 11-18 one excused absence each school year for loosely defined “civic engagement activities”.

The system will affect 188,000 students – Fairfax County is one of the dozen largest school districts in the United States – and comes into effect on Jan 27.

Ryan Mcelveen, a member of the school board, which introduced the policy, said he believed it was the first such policy in the US. “I think we’re setting the stage for the rest of the nation with this,” he said. “It’s a dawning of a new day in student activism, and school systems everywhere are going to have to be responsive to it.”

Student activism surged after the 2018 massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, and, more recently, surrounding climate change.

Mr Mcelveen introduced the proposal in February, in response to the new waves of demonstrations. But, accepting that it would be politically controversial, he crafted a policy that was deliberately vague, to allow for all forms of protest – liberal and conservative.

Students must fill out a form at least two days ahead of their planned absence, explaining the reason they plan to miss school.

They must obtain permission from a parent or guardian, and they must stop by their school campus at least once on the day of their excused absence.

School officials cannot veto attendance at the protest or lobbying drive.

“There is no strong definition of a ‘civic engagement’ activity,” Mr Mcelveen said.

“I think we have to be careful not to pick and choose activities.”