Democratic Priorities? School District Responses to Student Protests Since 2018

• In Event: Free Speech in School and on Campus

Abstract

This paper examines relationships between school administration and student protests since 2018 as a reflection of preparation for participatory democracy as a goal of public education. Our approach is two-fold. First, we examine recent examples of student activism in light of the broader historical arc of student protest behavior. Second, we interpret the contemporary context of official school and school district-level responses to student protest. We find that public schools are increasingly responding to student protests with a non-response: effectively or outwardly declaring local branches of mass protests as school-sanctioned activities. As a result, students’ opportunities to engage in democratic pedagogy is circumscribed as school leaders prioritize pragmatic efforts to manage student behavior.

Authors

• Pamela Catherine Callahan, University of Maryland - College Park

• Joel Miller, University of Maryland - College Park