In the United States, students have their First Amendment right to free speech to speak out against policies or changes they oppose. You are legally allowed to speak on any topic you want, so let anyone who tries to stop you know this.
Addressing your school’s concerns will allow you to drum up local support among the student body and the larger community familiar with the issues. If a community is rather artistically inclined, when it comes time to gather signatures for keeping art programs funded, you’ll have an easier time getting help with a problem that affects everyone in town with kids.
They have a listing of nationwide protests called People Power you can add yours to, allowing others to know about your protest and come join you.
If you can, try not to even break rules with your protest. If you’re threatened with trespassing, nothing can be done if you’re protesting on public space, such as a sidewalk. Have one of the leaders maintain a low profile, avoiding speech making and drawing attention to themselves. This way, if the more outspoken leaders are punished or detained, they can step up to lead and state that they won’t give in unless the original leaders are allowed to come back to the protest. [5] X Research source
Listen closely to any feedback faculty members may provide, as they can offer advice and assistance on how to persuade adults, and better frame and explain your arguments to the community.
If during researching you find out your concerns have an economic impact on the district or school, bring up how addressing them can help save money, or will be worth the investment in the long term. Most meetings have time set aside for the public to speak. You may have to put your name on a sign in sheet.
The classmate running should be aware of needing to commit to further duties beyond just the protest issues if they do win the vote.
Don’t allow yourself to be given the runaround by a principal’s secretary, who may be ordered to not allow you to schedule an appointment, or will schedule appointments the principal intentionally blows off. If you’re ignored, try reaching out to an even higher authority than the figure you’re having problems with. If your principal is ignoring you, letting his superintendent know he isn’t listening to student concerns may finally get his attention.
Authorities may try to stop your signature gathering, thinking it can lead to something bigger. Avoid bringing already filled out sheets with you when gathering new signatures. If they try to bully you to stop or to take your pages, let them know it’s illegal, and you can contact your congressperson or the ACLU about this. Keep a jar or cup with you to collect any potential donations of change, which you can say you’ll be using to make photocopies and prints.
Some schools do specifically ban clothing with inappropriate material on it, such as violence, pornography, drugs, curse words, or something racist. If your school requires a uniform, consider adding a patch to it saying something in support of your cause. This way you won’t be going against the dress code.
Feel free to make signs in support of your cause to hold up, or make a chant of what your protest is about. Keep in mind that a walk-out can easily attract the attention of reporters and journalists. If you want to keep the media out, consider holding an “indoor walk-out” in the school lobby, auditorium, or gym.
Try to reason with the principal that giving out punishments won’t get students back to class, but meeting your demands will end the protesting. However, a principal just looking to get the students out of their office may simply punish everyone involved.
A call from a government official to your school can be the deciding factor in having protestors’ demands heard.
If an agreement can’t be made, police may threaten or make arrests. Again, not every student protesting can be arrested, but protest leaders may be targeted to discourage others from continuing. Ask the student supporters if any of them are willing to be arrested for the protest. If many say yes, then you’ll know you can pursue more aggressive protesting tactics if need be.
The media can also help to serve as moral support for the students, showcasing how important their protesting is in helping to bring policy change that benefits students’ experiences in school.
Use social media to help keep discussion of the issues going outside of school, and to schedule and invite students to new protests.
