Thousands of students are expected to walk out of their classrooms in the coming months to support a growing movement for tighter gun control in the wake of the school shooting in Florida. But some will do so at the risk of scarring their academic record as administrators in some districts threaten them with suspension.

The threats of disciplinary action have prompted lawyers and even a prestigious university admissions department to lend their support.



The survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed, have sparked a national debate over gun control laws, prompting students across the country to demonstrate in favor of stricter regulations.

There are national school walkouts scheduled for March 14 and April 20. A march on the nation's Capitol is scheduled for March 24. Thousands of students also participated in walkouts across the country on Feb. 22.

But some schools districts want their students to stay put.

Spring Independent School District, north of Houston, Texas, said in a statement that any student who walks out "could face an in-school suspension per our normal policies."

The superintendent of the Needville Independent School District, southeast of Houston, also threatened to suspend students over walkouts.

"Should students choose to [walk out], they will be suspended from school for three days and face all the consequences that come along with an out-of-school suspension...We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty or five hundred students involved," according to a post on the district's Facebook page, which is no longer up.

The Waukesha County School District in Wisconsin also said Wednesday that students were prohibited from participating in walkouts, though the superintendent did not specify what the punishment would be.

Thursday, however, the district issued another statement saying it would allow students excused from school by their parents to participate, so long as they did not disturb other students.

Needville, Spring, and Waukesha school districts did not respond to requests for comment.

