DMV-area high schoolers recruited to march in 'School Strike for Gaza,' docs show -

WASHINGTON (CITC) — High school students in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., are being recruited to join a "School Strike for Gaza" Friday, according to documents shared with a parents' rights group.

Friday's strike is being led by DMV School Strike for Gaza, according to the documents shared with Parents Defending Education (PDE). A "recruitment" toolkit drafted by the group says a march will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., and end at the White House. There will be pro-Palestine teach-ins once attendees reach the White House, according to the toolkit.

The strikers' demands include an end to "unconditional military aid to Israel" and a "call for a permanent and immediate ceasefire," according to the toolkit.

We refuse to stand by idly while a genocide is committed by our governments, and especially as students in the belly of the beast, Washington D.C.," the toolkit reads. "We have an obligation to stop business as usual and stand up as our age-peers are being slaughtered on our tax dollars."

"We are striking to show our communities and governments that the youth will no longer be complicit in the incessant violence against Palestinians," the toolkit continues.

A form included in the toolkit asks individuals for their name, affiliated school or organization and contact information. It also asks whether they are interested in forming a "pod" for their school or area if one does not currently exist.

"Though this is a school strike focused on mobilizing high school students, all members of the community are welcome and encouraged to join us," the toolkit reads. "There is power in numbers, and we’d love anybody and everybody to support our student movement."

The toolkit also contains a letter template for students looking to provide school officials with "meaningful context" to their "planned absence" Friday. The template notes the sender is horrified by recent events in Gaza and says Palestinian and Arab students in Washington, D.C., have been silenced for speaking up.

There are several co-sponsors of Friday's march, according to an Instagram post by DMV School Strike for Gaza. Co-sponsors include American Muslims for Palestine, Occupation Free DC and Teachers Against Genocide.

Crisis in the Classroom (CITC) reached out to school districts throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., to learn whether they are planning for Friday's march. Rhyen Staley, a researcher for PDE, is concerned districts may be faced with students who do not obtain parental permission to be absent and leave school to attend the march.

The school has to have consequences for that because they're violating school rules," Staley told CITC. "I don't care if it's for a protest, they're minors."

Friday's march coincides with a stretch of pro-Palestine demonstrations at universities nationwide. More than 100 students walked out of a Sunday commencement ceremony at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to urge the school to divest from companies associated with Israel.

CITC reached out to DMV School Strike for Gaza, American Muslims for Palestine, Occupation Free DC and Teachers Against Genocide for comment. This story will be updated as responses are received.

Have something for the Crisis in the Classroom team to investigate? Call or text the national tip line at 202-417-7273.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uLbAnKuvZpOkunC6xLCqaKaRqbawuoywpquklGSxrsKMmqmemV2dtqi0jKyaoaefobKzv4yrnJyqpZ7BprCMraZmpZGnsKl5yKdkrJuYpLytedKtqaKjlWKzsL6MoJizmV2ZvKS%2FjKyfqK9drK60tMinnq2nnmKxpHnMmqmypJGjsW7CyKueoqaZlnq0r8eopqVlo6nCpbHNrapmqJGhsrTAyKecZqGjp66muIymoJ2cnJp6pq3SrWScp56buaqv02anmqqVo8G0ecOenZ6mlJ67qHnEnaycmaSevK95wqugrKGjYravedOhnGabnJbAtL7OqKQ%3D