Texas school district to suspend students protesting gun laws

A Houston-area school district is threatening to suspend students who disrupt classes or walk out to protest current gun laws.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Needville ISD Superintendent Curtis Rhodes sent a letter to families and published on schools’ social media Tuesday saying students would face a three-day, out-of-school suspension if they joined in growing protests nationwide over last week’s school shooting in Florida.

Rhodes says the district is sensitive to school violence, but is focused on education and not political protests.

Student organizers in Florida are planning a march in Washington next month to demand stricter gun legislation. Students are also organizing a national school walkout April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 Columbine shooting.

The student uprisings follow the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.