Student Protesters Must Stay in School or Face Discipline: Superintendent

ROCKVILLE, MD — With student protest marches shutting down Montgomery County streets and one reported injury after a teen wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat was attacked, the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools is reminding students they must stay in school

“These demonstrations have unfortunately generated valid concerns regarding the security of our students outside of our schools. When students are threatened or injured as part of a protest it raises serious safety issues that require us to rethink the situation,” Superintendent Jack Smith said in a video message being shared at county schools Thursday.

School leaders must keep students safe under adult supervision and Smith asks all students to remain in schools and their classes. Students who do not comply may face discipline.

Hundreds of students from Richard Montgomery High School marched to the Rockville courthouse on Maryland Avenue Wednesday in the most recent protest of the outcome of the presidential election. The crowd chanted "United we stand, divided we fall" and "Love Trumps Hate," while a speaker with a bullhorn called President-Elect Donald Trump a joke and a serial rapist.

A 15-year-old boy wearing one of the Trump campaign’s hats was attacked by about four students and taken away in an ambulance. WTOP reports that the youth wasn’t seriously hurt, but police are investigating and one teen has been charged with assault. Police say the victim suffered scrapes, cuts and knee abrasions.

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The rally was the latest student action this week in Montgomery County. On Monday, some students at Montgomery Blair High School and Northwood High School walked out of classes in protest. Similar walkouts have happened at Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy and James Hubert Blake high schools this week, reports FOX DC.

He again condemned recent vandalism at several schools —including swastikas painted at a couple of buildings —and asked anyone with information to report it.

Hate-based vandalism is horrible and illegal, he said. “It is simply wrong.”

School officials are working with police to find the vandals. Montgomery County is a diverse community and Smith said he expects everyone to respect other students’ and staff members varied backgrounds.

“I expect everyone to respect these differences,” Smith said. “Respect and tolerance are at the foundation of who we are as a school system, a community and a nation. We are better than that. If you see something, say something. If you experience something, say something, please.”

Last week at Westland Middle School in Bethesda, swastikas were drawn on the mirrors and walls of a boys' restroom. A $10,000 reward for an arrest in the case was announced Monday.

And in late October, images of Nazi swastikas and male genitalia were spray-painted above the entrance to Burning Tree Elementary School in Bethesda. The school is used on the weekend by a Jewish congregation for services.

Similar symbols were marked on the grass of the Quince Orchard High School football field in Gaithersburg the week before the Burning Tree incident. Police say vandals used some sort of a caustic substance to deface the field surface with a swastika and male genitalia.

In all three cases, Montgomery County Police have called the vandalism a hate crime and offered a reward for tips that lead to arrest.

Tens of thousands of Americans disappointed with the results of the 2016 presidential election have protested in the past week in cities around the nation, including New York, Detroit, Boston and Miami.

The Montgomery County Young Republicans said in a statement that the protests should be done after after school not during school, and questioned if the local teachers' union, Montgomery County Education Association, was coordinating the student protests. The GOP group called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the MCEA and any links to the walkouts.

No teachers encouraged Monday's walk-out and protest by an estimated 500 Montgomery Blair High School students, say school system officials, who had encouraged students to remain on school grounds rather than taking to the streets.

»Screenshot from video posted on Twitter by user Saja; video from Montgomery County Public Schools