Chicago City Wire

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) face the threat of a lawsuit from the Chicago Republican Party over recent student anti-gun protests, which were supported by school administrators.

Chris Cleveland, chairman of the Chicago GOP, said that the protests violated not only the CPS’ own code of ethics forbidding political activity during school time but state law and the First Amendment rights of the students.

"It's appalling that 10- to 14-year-old kids would be coerced, by their teachers, to participate in a political demonstration," Cleveland said. "A 10-year-old kid isn't going to have an informed opinion on these political matters, and shouldn't be expected to have the fortitude to hold a different opinion from everyone else in his or her classroom. This is political indoctrination, pure and simple."

Chris Cleveland

The GOP has asked the Office of Inspector General for the Chicago Board of Education to investigate the protests. Cleveland said they will file a lawsuit if they don’t receive a satisfactory response.

He added that he has been getting calls and emails from all over the United States from others concerned about school officials organizing similar protests on school time

A March 12 email sent to parents from Mark Armendariz, principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Chicago, to parents read in part:

“This coming Wednesday, March 14 many students/schools across the nation (and globe) are going to participate in a school walkout demonstration at 10:00 a.m. to support the memory of those that were killed in the Parkland, FL shooting and also to demonstrate their right to express their opinion about gun control.”

Other CPS officials sent similar notes to parents.

A Fox News report on the student protests noted that more than 650 people were murdered in Chicago in 2017. In 2016, nearly 800 were killed, many of whom were teens, some under the age of 12.

“A CPS spokesperson said they could not recall a district condoned walkout for the city’s own gun violence and homicide rate,” the story said.