Coming Friday

God love ya, kids. Go get 'em.

Students at over 100 Colorado schools plan statewide walkout to protest ICE

Over 100 middle schools and high schools are expected to experience walkouts on Sept. 4.

For some Colorado students returning to school this fall, the classroom doesn’t feel as safe as it used to.

Last year, President Donald Trump’s administration reversed federal guidance that restricted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship. Since the change, ICE activity has been reported at schools throughout the country.

Students at over 100 high schools and middle schools across Colorado plan to walk out of class on Friday, Sept. 4, as part of a protest demanding that ICE agents stay away.

“Young people are not willing to sit back and watch our communities be harmed while the adults in power fail to act,” says Bre Kennedy, a 16-year-old student at Grandview High School in Aurora. “This walkout is about making our voices heard and showing that youth are paying attention, we care about what is happening in our communities, and we have a place in these conversations.”

Kennedy co-founded the Colorado Youth Coalition, which is organizing the walkout. Other groups backing the protest include Brown Berets of Tepetlán, the Denver People’s March, 50501 Colorado, PULSE Colorado, No Concentration Camps in Colorado, and General Strike U.S.

Colorado law prohibits ICE agents from entering non-public areas of public schools without a judicial warrant. In April, the Denver school board approved policies to double down on shielding students from immigration enforcement, directing the superintendent to deny ICE agents access to property, records and students without a warrant.

However, those kinds of local regulations have not kept ICE agents away from schools in other states.

In June, ICE detained a mother and father outside of a Baltimore elementary school as the parents were dropping off their daughters, despite both Maryland and Baltimore enacting measures to block ICE agents from entering school premises without a warrant. In Missouri and Ohio, local police officers working with ICE have entered schools with lists of students’ names, attempting to locate the children, also without warrants.

Such encounters inspired a Missouri school district to implement a new safety protocol against ICE agents this school year. In California, educators have formed patrol teams to watch for ICE agents around their campuses. Last month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued step-by-step guidance for K-12 schools to respond to immigration enforcement.

Now, Colorado students want to do their part to spread the word and push back.

“ICE has been terrorizing schools badly,” says Christy Aguilar of Brown Berets of Tepetlán. “Kids deserve a right to live peacefully, not fearfully. And if this walkout is a way to get their voices heard, then so be it.”

The walkout is scheduled for noon on Sept. 4. Denver-area participants will rally at La Alma-Lincoln Park afterward.

Here are all the schools where students are planning to participate in the walkout as of Sept. 1, according to the Colorado Youth Coalition, although more are expected to join.

Alamosa
Alamosa High School

Arvada
Arvada West High School
Pomona Junior/Senior High School

Aurora
APS Avenues
Aurora Science & Tech High School
Aurora West College Preparatory Academy
Central High School
Cherokee Trail High School
Eaglecrest High School
Grandview High School
Hinkley High School
Overland High School
Rangeview High School
Smoky Hill High School
Vista Peak Preparatory
William Smith High School

Boulder
Boulder High School
Fairview High School
New Vista High School

Brighton
Brighton High School

Broomfield
Broomfield High School
Holy Family High School
Legacy High School

Brush
Brush High School

Carbondale
Roaring Fork High School

Castle Rock
Castle View High School
Douglas County High School
Renaissance Secondary School

Centennial
Arapahoe High School

Colorado Springs
Banning Lewis Preparatory Academy
Cheyenne Mountain High School
Doherty High School
Mesa Ridge High School
Palmer High School
Pikes Peak Early College
Pine Creek High School
Rampart High School
Sand Creek High School
Sierra High School
Watson Junior High School
Widefield High School

Commerce City
Adams City High School
Stead School

Confier
Conifer High School

Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School

Denver
Abraham Lincoln High School
CEC Early College
D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School
Denver School of the Arts
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College
DSST: Cole Middle & High School
DSST: College View Middle School
DSST: Elevate Northeast High School
DSST: Montview High School
East High School
Global Leadership Academy
John F. Kennedy High School
KIPP Northeast Denver Leadership Academy
Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy
Manual High School
Montbello High School
Mullen High School
North High School
Northfield High School
Performing Arts School on Broadway
Rocky Mountain Prep
South High School
Summit at Castro

Edgewater
Jefferson Junior/Senior High School

Englewood
Colorado’s Finest High School of Choice
Englewood High School

Erie
Erie High School

Evergreen
Evergreen High School

Fort Collins
CEC Fort Collins High School
Fort Collins High School
Fossil Ridge High School
Liberty Common High School
Polaris Expeditionary Learning School
Poudre High School
Rocky Mountain High School

Fort Lupton
Fort Lupton High School

Fountain
Fountain-Fort Carson High School

Frederick
Frederick High School

Golden
Golden High School

Grand Junction
Grand Junction High School

Greeley
Frontier Academy
Greeley Central High School
Greeley West High School
Northridge High School

Greenwood Village
Cherry Creek High School

Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch High School
Mountain Vista High School
Ranch View Middle School
Rock Canyon High School
Thunder Ridge High School

Johnstown
Roosevelt High School

Keenesburg
Weld Central Senior High School

Lafayette
Centaurus High School
Peak to Peak Charter School

Lakewood
Bear Creek High School
Green Mountain High School
Lakewood High School

Littleton
Chatfield Senior High School
Columbine High School
Dakota Ridge High School
Heritage High School
Littleton High School

Longmont
Longmont High School
Mead High School
Silver Creek High School
Skyline High School

Louisville
Monarch High School

Loveland
Loveland High School
Mountain View High School
Thompson Valley High School

Lyons
Lyons Middle/Senior High School

Manitou Springs
Manitou Springs High School

Montrose
Montrose High School

Nederland
Nederland Middle/Senior High School

New Castle
Coal Ridge High School

Niwot
Niwot High School

Northglenn
Northglenn High School
Northglenn Middle School

Palisade
Palisade High School

Parker
Chaparral High School

Peyton
Falcon High School

Pueblo
Pueblo Central High School
Pueblo County High School
Pueblo East High School

Thornton
Horizon High School
Mapleton Early College High School
Riverdale Ridge High School
Skyview High School
Stargate Charter School
Thornton High School
Thornton Middle School

Timnath
Timnath Middle/High School

Westminster
Academy of Charter Schools
Mountain Range High School
Standley Lake High School

Wheat Ridge
Wheat Ridge High School

Windsor
Windsor High School

Woodland Park
Woodland Park High School