Waiting To See If Knox County, Tennessee, Schools Stand With Dictatorship

Young Americans Are Taking A Stand - And Some School Districts Have Threatened to Punish Them For It

Yesterday, January 30th, 2026, a nationwide strike occurred in America. No School, No Work, No Shopping was supported by schools and businesses in pressure against the violence ICE has used in Donald Trump's "mass deportation." What started as a Minnesota movement to hold the murderers of Renee Good and Kyle Pretti accountable, and to push ICE out of their city, the message spread like wildfire across America.

And even in Red States, people are fed up, as demonstrated by the size of the protest that occurred yesterday in Knoxville, Tennessee. As a Tennessean, I was proud when I learned of a student-led organization in Knox County that had organized a walkout. Despite threats to punish them by the schools with suspension for 'skipping class' and 'disrupting the learning environment', they still walked out and marched alongside hundreds of adults in a peaceful protest called "You Can Make A Difference."

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/education/2026/01/29/knox-county-schools-warns-of-student-discipline-for-you-can-make-difference-anti-ice-walkout/88417486007/

Students gave speeches on kindness, humanity, and the importance of their missions. They rallied together, and did it knowing they live in places surrounded by right-wing Trump supporters, who see nothing wrong with "Alligator Alcatraz" or other detention centers and the harsh conditions that people are being kept in.

To top off their disagreement on how human beings should be treated, 8 people have now died in 2026 from ICE-related shootings. And its BARELY Feburary.

These students are now facing criticism from right-wing extremists on social Media platforms, and the threat of their academic reputations being tarnished. On top of being accused of being "radical" for protesting for basic human rights, they are also being called "sheep" and "stupid."

This makes many people worry that this is the reason why the schools tried to deter their students with the threat of disciplinary action. There are a lot of reasons that may sound positive when laid out in defense:

"We didn't want students to get involved in protests because they have been dangerous." "We didn't want locals who may be aggressive in their beliefs to target them." "It was for their protection."

Who exactly are you trying to protect? The students, or the republican agenda? And what exactly are you punishing them for?

Thankfully, advocacy groups are pleading with Knoxville County Schools on behalf of the brave students who participated in the organized protest.

Sources say that the letter that was sent to KCS argues that "peaceful student activism is not misconduct, it is civic learning* in real time: it is a right and responsibility to be encouraged and protected."

*Civic learning is the lifelong process of developing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to become an informed, engaged, and responsible participant in a democratic society, encompassing understanding government, history, and community needs, while building critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills to act effectively in diverse communities and contribute to the public good. It's about preparing individuals to be competent citizens who can understand complex issues, collaborate with others, and advocate for positive change.

Many people are pointing to an important ruling that occurred in 1969 by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court in Tinker Vs Demoines Independent Community School District ruled that by law, students have the right to peacefully protest in schools.

For those that don't know and don't want to read a whole article about it the gist is this: In December 1965, a group of students in Des Moines, Iowa, including Mary Beth Tinker (13), John Tinker (15), and Christopher Eckhardt (16), planned to wear black armbands to school to mourn the dead and protest the Vietnam War. The school reacted by banning the armbands and suspending anyone who refused to take them off. The students did not take it off and, therefore, were suspended. However the Court recognized the armbands as "symbolic speech" which is a type of "pure speech" which is protected by the First Amendment. Justice Abe Fortas is famous for decreeing that "students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate". The courts reasoned that the protest was silent and passive, and did NOT cause an actual disruption, the claim of "being afraid of trouble" was not sustainable.

Let us be clear - This may not be enough to keep Knox County Schools students safe from reprimand.

The ruling in favor of the students back in 1969 was a truly silent and non-disruptive protest. The students weren't talking about the bands. They were not interrupting class lessons. They weren't skipping class. It was a visual protest that didn't make any noise. The message's loudness was in its silence and suddenness.

Students arriving in school, then getting up and walking out, falls under the legal technicality of 'being disruptive to the learning environment.' Teachers who are responsible for a classroom of minors suddenly not being able to ensure this student's safety once they leave school grounds gives plenty of plausibility to a school's claims of fear of safety.

So let me offer up a reason that KCS might look favorably on:

When you decide the fate of the students who walked out in protest for their beliefs, remember the curriculum you teach when you talk about American History to your students.

You teach them about the peaceful protests of Martin Luther King Jr.

You teach them about the Constitution and the dream of the Founding Fathers to be free of a government built on oppression.

You make them memorize and recite the Preamble.

You test them on the Amendments and what they stand for.

Instead of punishing them for executing exactly what you have hopefully been teaching - as the Board of Education hasn't been gone long enough for you to have NOT been - Why not be proud of your students, and honor the teachers who got the message of what everything American History is supposed to teach?

History is written by the victors. And American History is made of Victories.

And America wrote itself into history as the good guy.

The land of freedom. The land of equality. The right of speech. The land where the people change the world when they unite and come together.

And the right to make a difference.

And that's what that protest was called, wasn't it? The "You Can Make a Difference" march.

So now, Knox County Schools. What difference are you going to make now that the ball is in your court?

Are you going to make a difference by silencing, punishing, and using authoritarian methods to punish children for "being disruptive?" Are you going to punish them for trying to be everything your job requires you to prepare them to be?

Or are you going to make a difference by standing by your young Americans, whether they participated in the protest or not? You can make a difference.

Knox County Schools - now is the time to send your message.

You can be the voice that clearly reminds everyone around you: This is America. And they have the right to stand up for what they believe in. That has been American History for generations. That we have the freedom to protest and the freedom to disagree, and that has been our PRIDE and JOY as a nation since its liberation from a monarch.

Or... you can punish them.

The choice is yours.