Kansas high school students worry their First Amendment rights could be violated under a new Senate bill, with many students saying they won’t be able to make their voices heard in school if protests are more regulated.
The Kansas Senate included a proviso in its version of the state budget that would require public school students to obtain parental permission to participate in protests and impose fines on school districts for protests. School days that include a student walkout wouldn’t count as instructional days for state requirements.
The proposal was introduced at a time when students across Kansas have staged walkouts during the school day protesting heightened federal immigration policy and the Trump administration.
Eli Cokelet, a senior at Lawrence High School and the president of Young Democrats Club, said laws as well as parents should not be a deciding factor in a student’s right to protest.
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“As high schoolers, most people can’t vote. The main thing we can do is educate ourselves and protest,” Cokelet said. “The First Amendment does not stop at the schoolhouse gate. So constitutionally, we’re guaranteed the right to speak out. And I believe walking out of school in a protest is our way to speak out.”
Sen. Michael Murphy, a Republican from Sylvia, proposed the restrictions on student walkouts as an amendment to Senate Bill 315. The Senate approved the amendment 21-18 and passed the budget bill 21-19. Senate and House negotiators will have to resolve differences between competing budget plans, with a final bill still needing approval from both chambers.
If it stands, fines for school districts would be determined by whether school staff encouraged, facilitated or enabled a student walkout. The fine would be equivalent to the superintendent’s base salary.
Adam Goldstein from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said student speech is generally protected by the First Amendment and landmark cases such as Tinker v. Des Moines. Protests via clothing, petitions, flyers or outside of school hours are generally protected, but doesn’t shield students from punishment for their attendance during a protest.
“If a school does choose to discipline a student for walking out to join a protest, it has to do it consistently with how it would punish any other student for cutting class,” Goldstein said. “Punishing a student more harshly because they wanted to express their opinion would be viewpoint discrimination, which is never permissible under the First Amendment.”
Students can’t be punished at a higher level if schools or authorities don’t like the message of the protest, he said.
Lawrence High School and Free State High School have their third walkout of 2026 planned for after spring break. LHS junior Angelo Reyna said he believes the ability to have large student protests can make viable change in students’ own public schools and beyond.
“I believe that the state Legislature has no place in passing this law,” Reyna said. “I think it’s important especially if we’re not protesting the main administration. Say we’re protesting the district. Protesting in school is where you would protest district behavior, how the district is treating teachers.”
Cokelet sees it more as a civic responsibility for his fellow students, especially since the majority can’t vote yet.
“Protesting is how we can collectively make our voices heard,” Cokelet said. “But also I think it’s just our duty as good people, whatever your faith is or whatever you believe in. I think it’s your duty to stand up and speak up.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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Lawrence students raise concerns over Kansas Senate bill that limits First Amendment right to protest
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