WCSD: Students participating in national anti-gun walkouts will be marked tardy, absent

The Washoe County School District on Friday said that while it "understands and respects the emotional component and intent" of anti-gun student walkout events being organized nationwide, it will still mark students who participate absent or tardy.

The national walkouts, scheduled for March 14 and April 24, come in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that claimed 17 lives.

Organizers, which include survivors of the Parkland shooting, say the walkouts are advocating for stricter gun control laws and better mental health resources.

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District spokesperson Victoria Campbell said the district hasn't caught wind of any walkouts currently being organized in Washoe County.

The district said it's encouraging school administrators to organize school-wide events "to provide meaningful engagement" on the days that the national walkouts are scheduled.

It also implored students who do participate in any of the walkouts to do so respectfully.

Students who decide to participate in a walkout must acknowledge the limited amount of supervision that may be available, as the District does not have the resources to monitor the safety of students off campus. School Police will endeavor to be present at as many sites as possible primarily to observe, assuming students are not disturbing the educational setting or engaging in disruptive behaviors that are unsafe or risk the security of the school. We ask students who decide to participate in a walkout to peacefully assemble, conduct the activity without disturbing the teaching, learning, and educational setting at their school, and then return to class.

The Feb. 14 Parkland shooting surpassed the 1999 Columbine shooting in Colorado as the deadliest high school shooting in the United States.

Survivors of the Parkland shooting have emerged as leaders in the movement for stricter gun control laws in the days following the massacre. They've publicly challenged President Donald Trump and other politicians and have leveraged social media to spark a national conversation.