Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe Credit: File: Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

In a letter to Vermont school administrators last week, Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe praised student activism but sought to dissuade participation in upcoming school protests.

Students and teachers across the country are planning a 17-minute walkout on March 14 to honor the 17 victims of a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., and to call for new gun laws.

Holcombe opened her memo by declaring support for students’ right to free speech, but she went on to caution that it “does not extend to disrupting classes (which prevents others from learning), nor to leaving school without permission (which potentially creates a safety threat).”

“We are in an extraordinary moment of history, and more than ever, our children need the skills of citizenship, so they can lead strong communities for the next generation,” she wrote. “However, this also means teaching them to do so in ways that are not disruptive to the rights of others and in ways that model the skills of democracy.”

The secretary urged administrators to find another way for students to express themselves, such as holding a school-wide assembly. “I encourage you to work with your students and support civil and peaceful opportunities for student expression and student voice, while holding all members of your community to your codes of behavior,” she wrote.

In an interview, Holcombe said she sent the memo because, “My job is to try to do everything I can to maintain a safe and orderly environment [in schools].” She made the case that walkouts raised safety concerns because “obviously it’s difficult for administrators to maintain and ensure the safety of kids if they don’t know where they are.”

School administrators nationwide are grappling with how to handle student protests in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting; some have accommodated walkouts, while others have disciplined student participants.

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Alicia Freese was a Seven Days staff writer from 2014 through 2018.

18 replies on “In Memo, Vermont Ed Secretary Discourages Student Walkouts”

  1. If the students want to do a walkout protest, they will. I don’t think that the people in charge saying “don’t do it” is going to stop them–when has that ever stopped kids?

    But it also undercuts the overall message. Support for free speech, but only in designated “safe” methods? This line in particular bugs me:

    “However, this also means teaching them to do so in ways that are not disruptive to the rights of others and in ways that model the skills of democracy.”

    Historically, students have walked out and protested all around the world. How would you have them protest? On the weekends? After school? How is a school-wide assembly going to let students express themselves? The whole point of walking out is to get a COMMUNITY to notice.

  2. Well now she can be assured I will support my kids 100% if they choose to do what they believe is right. Hopefully they will be accommodating but if not, my kids right to to stand up for what they believe is sometimes more imprortant than obeying adults direction of when and how they should make there voices heard. If there are consequences to be had, that is a lesson in life. Id rather they deal with the consequences than go through life feeling like they cant or shouldnt express themselves in a respectful and safe manner because they are afraid of upsetting the apple cart.

  3. I had a most unsatisfactory telephone conversation with her office today about this. I urge you to contact her AND THE GOVERNOR, pointing out the inherent conflicts in this communication.

  5. If students, especially those at Fair Haven Union High School, think this is an appropriate way to get adults to listen, I’m all for it. I would be proud of my child for doing so.

  7. Rebecca Holcombe May have her heart in the right place, but ultimately, she is on the wrong side of history on this issue.

    Freedom of speech has never been about accommodating others.

    If you are in a position to fight for your rights, than you cannot afford to not disrupt the routine.

  8. Having your classmates and teachers slaughtered over and over again while adults do nothing merits action. Every one of us needs to stand up, including the children whose lives weve been sacrificing on the altar of the American terrorists known as the NRA. If you support gun rights over our childrens rights, you are the enemy. Time is up, every child and every adult needs to walk out and support these children fighting to save their own lives.

    Rebecca Holcomb and every adult who does nothing to help these kids force politicians to stop the slaughter is complicit. Shame on all of us.

  9. History has proven that real change starts with the kids, not matter how young. We need a fundamental change in education, safety, and when your parents are spattering back and forth over what to do, the kids will change history. It will be their inherited world. It’s a shame that so many have to get murdered before real change happens, but that’s the American way.

    I think the High School students should stay out of school until REAL legislation is passed. Federal money won’t be flowing in and usually “money talks” and gets solutions moving forward. Unfortunately.

  10. CIvil disobedience has a long and important role in US history – this is a teachable moment that should not be getting “shut down” by the Secretary of Education.

  11. My three granddaughters will be part of theat walk out with full support of her parents,her grandfather and me. , the right to stand up and protest and fight for their lives. I’ll be there supporting everyone of them. They deserve this respect.

  14. “However, this also means teaching them to do so in ways that are not disruptive to the rights of others and in ways that model the skills of democracy.”

    A student coming into school with a firearm and murdering their peers and teachers — that is majorly “disruptive” to rights of others — namely, the “right” to be able to go to school (as student, staff, or teacher) and be safe in doing so. I think a walkout is much less disruptive –in fact, not disruptive in any real sense, as it is planned for only seventeen minutes and in response to an issue that every person with a pulse should care about, potentially more than seventeen minutes of academic instruction. And perhaps my own education is deficient, but I was unaware that civil disobedience failed to “model the skills of democracy”? In my learning — civil disobedience was framed as an essential “skill” in promoting democracy.

    “My job is to try to do everything I can to maintain a safe and orderly environment [in schools].”

    if this walkout may help raise awareness about and change the tide of school shootings, then it is promoting a safe and orderly environment in schools. If the secretary’s job is to promote such an environment — then her discouraging this walkout is in contradiction to her stated role of “doing everything” she can to maintain this kind of environment. Of course, I am making an assumption that the walkout will be productive in this sense — perhaps a stretch to some, but it would appear to me that recent student activism on this issue has been key to getting legislators to start thinking about and drafting gun control policies.

  15. The students’ voices have to be heard since they have so much lose from gun violence (their health, their life, their teachers, and a huge disruption to education). They also need to have the support of adults to encourage civic participation instead of a message to stay put and behave. So, why not arrange a teacher-student walk out on school grounds? This would eliminate the safety problem, give the students their voice, and show them that they have teacher support? I think that such a shared walkout experience can also be used to enhance education about civic engagement rather than disrupt education as the Secretary fears.

  16. Wow! Hugely disappointing that our Sec of Ed can’t see the importance of this moment. These kids could become the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) of our time and actually save some lives. Non-violent civil disobedience to save the lives of children should be universally supported.

  17. The schools have had at least two weeks advance warning that this will take place. It is only for 17-minutes. How disruptive can this be? If Secretary Holcombe really supports the student activism around this issue, as she says she does, I would think that she could come up with a way that this protest could be accommodated. This is a rather mild form of civil disobedience. A student pulling a fire alarm causes much more disruption than this protest and for no good purpose. As other commentators have said, this is a teachable moment that should not be snuffed out.

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