Student Activism

Learn more about students trying to make changes through advocacy or protest at their school or district, or at the state or national level
conceptual illustration of an umbrella opening clear skies in a storm
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Q&A Act on Student Ideas to Improve Mental Health, Youth Advocate Urges
High school student Rick Yang helped create mental health supports in his school and trained his peers to advocate for change.
Evie Blad, April 4, 2024
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4 min read
LeeAnn Kittle, executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, helped develop projects such as the solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College in Denver.
LeeAnn Kittle, the executive director of sustainability for the Denver school district, stands by a solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College, one of the district's high schools.
Rachel Woolf for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This Leader Channeled Students' Climate Anxiety Into Action. See How
LeeAnn Kittle partnered with student advocates to champion environmental sustainability in Denver's public schools.
Arianna Prothero, February 5, 2024
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3 min read
LeeAnn Kittle, executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, right, talks to Amelia Fernández Rodríguez, 16, a junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School on Jan. 12, 2024. Rodríguez and her peers lead “DPS Students for Climate Action,” and were filming a video at Denver East High School on creating a sustainability club.
LeeAnn Kittle, the executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, right, talks to Amelia Fernández Rodríguez, 16, a junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School. Kittle partners with Rodríguez and other students on efforts to make the district's schools more sustainable.
Rachel Woolf for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From This Leader Partners With Students to Build a More Sustainable Future for Her District
Under LeeAnn Kittle's leadership, the Denver district has implemented an ambitious climate action plan.
Arianna Prothero, February 5, 2024
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10 min read
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. After hearing a man tell the school board that transgender people posed a risk of violence in bathrooms, Leo expected another adult in the room to interrupt what felt like hate speech. No one did. So at the next board meeting, Leo spoke up. “Attacking students based on who they are or who they love is wrong,” he said. Leo has spoken regularly at meetings since.
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. A student-led effort to create a "safe space" for students at a Lynchburg, Va., school was recently rejected by the school board.
Ryan Collerd/AP
Student Well-Being A High School LGBTQ+ Student Group Won a Grant. Then the School Board Vetoed It
Advocates said the board's vote was a setback for "student voice" efforts—as well as for LGBQT+ students.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 15, 2023
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6 min read
Edha Gupta at a protest at Central York School District, where students, teachers and community members gathered to fight against a ban on 300 books and educational resources.
Edha Gupta at a protest at Central York School District, where students, teachers and community members gathered to fight against a ban on 300 books and educational resources.
Courtesy of Ben Hodge
Reading & Literacy What Happened When Students Led Fights to Reverse Book Bans
The stories of two student groups that found success in organizing to fight district book bans.
Eesha Pendharkar, July 18, 2023
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7 min read
Madison Lyman, 17, stands for a portrait on June 1, 2023, in the 18th and Vine District in Kansas City, Mo.
Madison Lyman, 17, stands in the historic 18th and Vine district in Kansas City, Mo., on June 1, 2023. A rising high school senior, she serves on the city's 13-person commission to study reparations for Black residents, which recently started meeting.
Erin Woodiel for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Meet the High School Student Helping Her City Study Reparations for Black Residents
In Kansas City, Mo., 17-year-old Madison Lyman serves on a 13-member commission studying reparations for Black residents.
Mark Lieberman, June 14, 2023
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7 min read
Oxford High School student return to school after they walked out of classes on May 26, 2022, in Oxford, Mich., to show their support for the Uvalde, Texas community and the recent mass shooting that occurred at an elementary school. A judge says a lawsuit can go forward against a Michigan school district that is accused of making poor decisions before a teenager killed four fellow students in 2021.
Oxford High School student return to school after they walked out of classes on May 26, 2022, in Oxford, Mich., to show their support for the Uvalde, Texas, community and the recent mass shooting that occurred at an elementary school.
Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP
School & District Management School Shooting Survivors at Odds With District Over Graduation Cords
Oxford graduating seniors want to wear special orange gun violence survivor cords at commencement. But the district says no.
Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News, May 16, 2023
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4 min read
SchoolWalkouts v3 BS
School Climate & Safety Video Students Want to Feel Safe at School. Here’s What They’re Asking For
Students across the country worry school shootings are becoming routine. So they're walking out of school for "common sense" gun laws.
Lauren Santucci, April 11, 2023
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2:20
Composite image of school building and climate change protestors.
Illustration by F. Sheehan/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty and E+)
Federal Student Activists Push Congress for Action on Climate Change Education
Student activists collaborated to write a pair of U.S. House resolutions on climate change.
Arianna Prothero, March 29, 2023
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4 min read
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DigitalVision Vectors
Budget & Finance Q&A How Fair School Funding Became the Unlikely Topic for a Student Podcast
Three students hosted a weekly podcast as their district and others fought against a funding formula they said shortchanged poorer schools.
Mark Lieberman, March 23, 2023
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5 min read
Aryaana Khan pictured in Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica, Queens, NY., on Jan. 27, 2023
Aryaana Khan pictured in Baisley Pond Park in Jamaica, Queens, NY., on Jan. 27, 2023
Mostafa Bassim for Education Week
Future of Work In Their Own Words From Monsoons to Hurricane Sandy: A Student’s Personal Journey From Activist to Scientist
Without formal instruction on climate change in school, Aryaana Khan struggled to make sense of the natural disasters she experienced.
Arianna Prothero, January 31, 2023
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4 min read
Voters fill out their ballots in booths on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, at Petersen Residence Hall on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa.
Voters fill out their ballots in booths on Election Day in November in a student residence hall at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen via AP
Social Studies Gen Z Has a Passion for Political Activism. Schools Can Nurture It
Gen Z continues to have a higher voter turnout than other young generations and schools can foster that civic interest.
Libby Stanford, January 6, 2023
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7 min read
Denver East High School students Mariah Rosensweig and Gabriel Nagel pose for portraits at City Park on Dec. 19. They have successfully advocated for Denver Public Schools to adopt a set of sustainability goals aimed at reducing the district's greenhouse emissions.
Denver East High School students Mariah Rosensweig and Gabriel Nagel pose for portraits at City Park on Dec. 19. They have successfully advocated for Denver Public Schools to adopt a set of sustainability goals aimed at reducing the district's greenhouse emissions.
AAron Ontiveroz for Education Week
Student Well-Being A Pandemic Pause, Then an Advocacy Renaissance for Teen Climate Change Activists
The nature of student activism has changed since the pandemic. But teens are still pushing for climate change solutions.
Arianna Prothero, December 30, 2022
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11 min read
Group of diverse people (aerial view) in a circle holding hands. Cooperation and teamwork. Community of friends, students, or volunteers committed to social issues for peace and the environment.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being Students Have Ideas to Address Mental Health Challenges. They Want to Be Heard
Students have solutions that can help teachers and school leaders support youth dealing with stress, anxiety, and other issues.
Denisa R. Superville, November 28, 2022
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8 min read
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