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
Molly Kaldahl (right) and Ava Nkwocha, who attend Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., meet with their senator’s legislative staff to discuss the National Student Council’s federal legislative agenda on Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Molly Kaldahl, right, and Ava Nkwocha, who attend Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., meet with the legislative staff of U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., to discuss the National Student Council’s federal legislative agenda on Oct. 28, 2025, in Washington.
Courtesy of Allyssa Hynes/NASSP
Education Funding Students Make Appeals to Congress to Protect K-12 Funding
National Student Council representatives shared perspectives on challenges schools are facing.
Lauraine Langreo, October 30, 2025
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6 min read
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. Following Kirk's assassination, Republican leaders are propelling Turning Point USA into K-12 schools.
John Locher/AP
States How Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA Is Expanding Its Reach to K-12 Schools
The organization has more than 1,000 chapters in high schools across the country.
Brooke Schultz, September 25, 2025
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6 min read
This summer, the ACLU expanded to three weeklong sessions of 300 students each, with participants coming from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and, for the first time, Guam. Maddie Clements, 16, a rising junior at West Creek High School in Clarksville, Tenn. (center, ink hair) listens during Anu Joshi’s immigration rights keynote which packed an auditorium at American University.
This summer, the ACLU expanded to three weeklong sessions of 300 students each, with participants coming from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and, for the first time, Guam. Maddie Clements, 16, a rising junior at West Creek High School in Clarksville, Tenn. (center, with pink and purple hair), listens during Anu Joshi's immigration rights keynote.
Melissa Lyttle for Education Week
Social Studies A Hands-On Lesson in Civics Sees Surging Student Interest in the Age of Trump
The American Civil Liberties Union sees interest spike in its student advocacy institute, while conservative groups have their own programs.
Mark Walsh, August 1, 2025
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10 min read
boy likely a teenager, sitting in a dimly lit room, holding a credit card and looking at a tablet screen
Nadzeya Haroshka/iStock
Curriculum Teaching Personal Finance to Teens in the Age of Online Gambling
Teenagers have more spending power than ever before. States are pushing schools to teach them how to be responsible with their spending.
Elizabeth Heubeck, April 11, 2025
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5 min read
school funding lawsuits 836865720
z_wei/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Education Funding These High Schoolers Are Suing for Better Schools. Can They Win?
A new lawsuit joins others currently challenging states to follow constitutional requirements for public education.
Mark Lieberman, January 15, 2025
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8 min read
Photo collage of hands holding phones with communication symbols superimposed. Learning phone etiquette.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A ‘It’s OK to Not Be on Your Phone’: An 18-Year-Old on Teaching Cellphone Etiquette
Whether it's asking permission to take a photo of someone or dimming a screen in a movie theater, kids need lessons in cellphone etiquette.
Arianna Prothero, July 12, 2024
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3 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School & District Management Letter to the Editor Student Protestors Are Not Fueled by Hatred or Prejudice
A reader pushes back on the coverage of student protestors in this letter to the editor.
May 28, 2024
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1 min read
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide.
New York City police officers raid the encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. Although not as turbulent as what is happening on many college campuses, K-12 schools in some pockets of the country are also contending with conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.
Marco Postigo Storel via AP
School & District Management Israel-Hamas War Poses Tough Questions for K-12 Leaders, Too
High school students have joined walkouts, while charges of antisemitism in three districts will be the focus of a House hearing this week.
Mark Walsh, May 6, 2024
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9 min read
conceptual illustration of an umbrella opening clear skies in a storm
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement 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, 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
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
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 & Movement 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
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