{"id":2563329,"date":"2026-02-03T06:34:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T11:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-illegal-for-leftist-agitators-to-encourage-high-school-walkouts-82\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T06:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T11:37:15","slug":"its-illegal-for-leftist-agitators-to-encourage-high-school-walkouts-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-illegal-for-leftist-agitators-to-encourage-high-school-walkouts-82\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s Illegal For Leftist Agitators To Encourage High School Walkouts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fits-illegal-for-leftist-agitators-to-encourage-high-school-walkouts-82%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2563329&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-illegal-for-leftist-agitators-to-encourage-high-school-walkouts-44\/\" title=\"It&#039;s Illegal For Leftist Agitators To Encourage High School ...\">piece examines student walkouts<\/a> used to protest political issues,highlighting a Shorewood,Wisconsin case and outlining a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/indiana-redistricting-bill-clears-committee-heading-to-full-senate-vote\/\" title=\"Indiana redistricting bill clears committee, heading to full Senate vote\">broader national pattern<\/a>. It argues that thes protests are rarely spontaneous and are often encouraged or organized by adults, which can run afoul of the law. In Shorewood, for example, students left school without a valid excuse, creating truancy under Wisconsin law.Two state representatives joined the march, praising the students and leading chants, which the author contends could constitute contributing to truancy\u2014even if political speech is protected.<\/p>\n<p>The Shorewood district claimed it did not sponsor the walkout, but suggested that parents could excuse the students, while the district\u2019s attendance policy makes clear that political demonstrations are not an approved reason for absence. The piece notes the tension between honoring youth expression and enforcing attendance laws, including a student\u2019s remark that leaving a lasting societal impact might trump academic work.<\/p>\n<p>ultimately, the author warns against adults using children as political tools, urging enforcement of the law and a focus on education. The article is written by Jay P. Greene of the defense of Freedom Institute.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisn.com\/article\/shorewood-students-walk-out-of-school-protest-ice\/70026672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">affluent suburb of Milwaukee<\/a> in mid-January, dozens of students left school in the middle of the day to protest actions by federal immigration authorities to detain and deport people in the U.S. illegally. Similar walkouts have been staged recently in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kare11.com\/article\/news\/local\/ice-in-minnesota\/students-walk-out-class-protest-ice-presence\/89-9dbdab7c-e04a-43f2-a844-249a3c266d94\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Minneapolis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/kval.com\/news\/local\/benton-county-students-walk-out-in-protest-against-ice-activity-on-campuses-and-nationwide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oregon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/riverheadlocal.com\/2026\/01\/16\/riverhead-high-school-students-walk-out-to-protest-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Long Island<\/a>, and elsewhere. And over the past few years, walkouts to protest against Israel were organized in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/maryland-high-school-endorses-anti-israel-protest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Montgomery County<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/2023\/10\/18\/san-francisco-high-school-kids-walkout-protest-israel-hamas-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">San Francisco<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/post\/chicago-public-schools-cps-walkout-ceasefire-gaza-war\/14373001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chicago<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/komonews.com\/news\/local\/seattle-students-walk-out-for-pro-palestinian-rally-israel-gaza-hamas-palestine-hostages-terrorism-occupation-middle-east-war-united-states-taxes-military-conflict-jewish-muslim\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Seattle<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/news\/2023\/12\/01\/boston-latin-school-palestine-israel-walkout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Boston<\/a>, among other places. It&rsquo;s fair to say that groups of students leaving school in left-leaning communities to advocate for leftist concerns has become a regular feature of the educational landscape.<\/p>\n<p>But these walkouts are typically not the spontaneous result of students seeking to express themselves. In almost all cases, these walkouts are encouraged, organized, or at a minimum facilitated by adults. To the extent that adults enable students to leave school so they can engage in political activism, they are in danger of violating the law.<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s consider the recent walkout in the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, Wisconsin. Being absent from school without a valid excuse is considered truancy, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/118\/15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prohibited by Wisconsin law<\/a>. Wisconsin law also forbids <a href=\"https:\/\/wilawlibrary.gov\/jury\/files\/criminal\/2173.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributing to truancy<\/a>, which &ldquo;is violated by any person 17 years of age or older who, by any act or omission, knowingly encourages or contributes to the truancy of a child.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Two state representatives, Darrin Madison and Ryan Clancy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTlZWYQD1un\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joined the students in their walkout<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fU5W_MlGKvI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">made speeches to the small crowd<\/a>, praising them for their action. They led the group in chanting &ldquo;stand up, fight back&rdquo; and &ldquo;abolish ICE.&rdquo; While these political expressions are certainly protected speech, encouraging students to leave school by joining them and praising them would very likely constitute contributing to truancy. At a minimum, failing to tell them that they legally should be in school would be an omission that contributed to truancy.<\/p>\n<p>The leaders of the Shorewood School District may also have contributed to this truancy. While the district sent a letter to parents saying that the school did not sponsor the walkout, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisn.com\/article\/shorewood-students-walk-out-of-school-protest-ice\/70026672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter did offer<\/a> that &ldquo;parents could excuse their students for the walkout by calling the attendance office.&rdquo; The district offered this option despite declaring on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shorewood.k12.wi.us\/families-students\/attendance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its website<\/a> that &ldquo;regular attendance is a key part of student success in the Shorewood School District.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/go.boarddocs.com\/wi\/shorewood\/Board.nsf\/goto?open&amp;id=DEEJX94F2E87\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">District policy<\/a> lists examples of permitted &ldquo;Parent-Excused Pre-Planned Absence,&rdquo; such as medical appointments or attending a funeral, but participating in a political demonstration is not among those excused absences.<\/p>\n<p>Some might argue that complying with technical requirements to attend school pales in comparison to the broader issues facing our country. The protesting students obviously think so, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisn.com\/article\/shorewood-students-walk-out-of-school-protest-ice\/70026672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one said<\/a>: &ldquo;The mark that me and like my fellow students can leave on the world I think is much more important than, you know, like another day of AP physics and creative writing.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But these students are children, and children are not entitled to decide whether chanting &ldquo;abolish ICE&rdquo; is more important than learning physics and writing. Adults have to make these decisions on their behalf. And adults have enshrined their decisions in laws that compel children to attend school and forbid other adults from undermining that.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these laws, it is very tempting for adults wishing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paypal-ceos-interview-with-world-economic-forum-could-suggest-mentality-behind-backtracked-misinformation-penalty\/\" title=\"PayPal CEO\u2019s Interview With World Economic Forum Could Suggest Mentality Behind Backtracked \u2018Misinformation\u2019 Penalty\">advance political agendas<\/a> to mobilize impressionable children for their causes. As one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fU5W_MlGKvI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">student speakers at the protest emphasized<\/a>, perhaps with some hyperbole, &ldquo;America&rsquo;s youth is the best organizing tool there is.&rdquo; The youth are an attractive enough tool that some adults will be tempted to violate the law to wield it. It is the responsibility of other adults to call them out for these violations, enforce the law, and ensure that our children are focused on their education rather than on being used as pawns in the political battles of grown-ups.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Jay P. Greene is a senior fellow at the Defense of Freedom Institute.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the passage, plus a 55-character version.<\/p>\n<p>Full paraphrase:<br \/>\nIn January, students in a wealthy Milwaukee suburb walked out of class to protest federal immigration enforcement. Similar student protests have occurred in other cities, and youth-led demonstrations against Israel have appeared in several more, suggesting that left-leaning student activism is becoming common in schools. The author argues these walkouts are rarely spontaneous; adults often organize or facilitate them, which can violate truancy laws. Using Shorewood, Wisconsin as an example, the piece explains that skipping school without an excuse is illegal, and that adults who encourage or enable truancy can be charged. The Shorewood District\u2019s actions\u2014saying it didn\u2019t sponsor the protest but allowing parents to excuse attendance\u2014are scrutinized, especially since attendance is emphasized as essential to student success. The article asserts that adults must enforce attendance and keep children focused on education, rather than letting them be used as political tools.<\/p>\n<p>55-character version:<br \/>\nStudent walkouts risk legal trouble; adults to blame<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":928,"featured_media":2563330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Untitled-13.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[14436,5152,5894,72595],"class_list":["post-2563329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-activism","tag-education","tag-politics","tag-student-walkouts-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Copy-of-Untitled-13.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2563329"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2563333,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563329\/revisions\/2563333"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2563330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2563329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2563329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2563329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}