Since the start of the 2025-2026 school year, West Potomac High School has seen a surge in student-led protests. This year, the school has had two widely attended walkouts: one as a part of the nationwide Students Demand Action against gun violence in America and another against ICE and its actions. This increase is a trend in recent years that has occurred not just within West Potomac, but in FCPS as a whole, prompting a change in FCPS policy concerning student demonstrations.

As of Aug. 18, 2025, FCPS revised their school policy on procedures and regulations regarding freedom of expression by students. The August update was regulatory clarification, not a new policy adoption. Therefore, it did not require full School Board action, and instead followed internal review led by appropriate FCPS departments and was vetted by key offices including school leadership.

“The input they [FCPS policymakers] asked us at the end of last year was: What was our experience with walkouts? What would we do differently? The same? Things like that,” Ms. Statz explained. “So I think some of that comes from why the changes happened over the summer by the county level people.”

The change to the policy created a new section in the Regulations and Procedures Governing Freedom of Expression by Students for “Advocacy Activities.” The section sets the expectation that advocacy activities like walkouts or demonstrations must take place before or after school. Additionally, students who want to plan an advocacy activity must submit a written request to their principal at least five days prior to the proposed event. Student organizers must meet with their principal within three school days after the written request and will receive a written decision on the advocacy activity within two days of the meeting. Previously, the policy did not directly address walkouts and covered expression through assembly more generally.

Now, if students organize or participate in walkouts during the school day, this is considered a violation of the SR&R and administrators are expected to respond using the discipline framework, which may include issuing unexcused absences or other disciplinary consequences according to the severity of the disruption. At the same time, FCPS expects students’ right to expression, so long as it is not disruptive to the instructional environment, to be respected.

The gun violence walkout at the beginning of the year was completed successfully without any disciplinary consequences for students, despite it occurring during the school day.

“I know the rules changed right before or right after I hosted my [gun violence] walkout, so that made it harder for people to schedule walkouts in the spring. But in the fall I was able to speak to the principal and organize everything,” Eloise Andreozzi, organizer of the Students Demand Action protest and sophomore, said.

Later in the year, senior Kacey Maravilla Vasquez and freshman Nicole Cordova Vazquez met through Instagram while both seeking to organize walkouts in protest of ICE. Maravilla Vasquez reached out to Cordova Vazquez and recommended that they join their efforts and arrange a meeting with Ms. Statz.

The two students spoke with Ms. Statz about organizing the ICE walkout. At the meeting, Ms. Statz presented the students with the idea to organize the walkout after school where there would be provided transportation so that the walkout would be in compliance with the SR&R policy.

When the students were asked if they knew about the policy before the meeting with Ms. Statz, Cordova Vazquez answered, “No, because recently we had a walkout in September so I thought that we would be able to plan this walkout but there’s a new rule saying that we can’t do walkouts anymore…”

After the meeting with Ms. Statz, Maravilla Vasquez and Cordova Vazquez decided to let students vote on Instagram whether the protest should occur during the school day with consequences, or after school with cooperation from administration. Ultimately, students voted for a walkout during the day, and the organizers planned for Feb. 27, contacting local news organizations to gain coverage for the event.

Then, an Instagram account with no connection to Maravilla Vasquez or Cordova Vazquez uploaded a post to Instagram on Feb. 11, scheduling a walkout to occur during third period on Feb. 13 in the senior lot.

“Administration tried shutting down the walkout, we must fight back and do it anyway to show our determination for this cause,” the post read in capital letters.

Maravilla Vasquez reached out to the account, hoping to follow her plan. Ultimately, the walkout commenced at the earlier date.

“I was mainly worried about the snow,” Maravilla Vasquez recounted, “but it all came together well. Everybody did end up showing up and everything did go good…”

On Feb. 13, students headed to the senior parking lot to protest against ICE’s actions, holding up signs. One read, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love,” a well-known quote after appearing on a jumbotron during Bad Bunny’s Superbowl half-time performance. Students then decided to leave school grounds and walk to the stop light on Quander Road to continue their protest there.

Per FCPS procedures, the protest was reported to district officials.

“We made them [FCPS] aware ahead of time that we had a peaceful walkout but some kids broke the rules and left school grounds and we weren’t allowed to chase them down,” said Ms. Statz. “We take care of the kids that stay and do what they’re supposed to.”

Due to the noncompliance of the walkout with West Potomac administration and the FCPS guidelines, students who participated in the walkout would receive an unexcused absence as a consequence. But despite the attendance consequences, Maravilla Vasquez feels supportive of Ms. Statz.

“I definitely did want to go say thank you to her because she supported us—not in the way that maybe she wanted to,” Maravilla Vasquez explained. “She definitely did support us, and a lot of people took the fact that admin couldn’t let us do the walkout in a bad way.”

For some students, concerns about disciplinary consequences linger.

“I have not heard anything from administration yet, however I am a bit nervous about that [consequence] but I know I did the right thing. I walked out for what I believe in and it’s my right to speak up,” Ruhama Firew, a junior who participated in the walkout against ICE, said.

The new policy has raised concern amongst students over the state of future walkouts and student-led demonstrations.

“I think that walkouts are so much more difficult now under the new policy, but I think it’s important that students find a way to make their voices known,” Andreozzi said.

For Maravilla Vasquez, the policy follows valid reasoning.

“I think that we all have a right to have our voices heard… but I also can understand it from the school board’s perspective because they want to keep us all safe and they don’t want anything bad to happen to any of the students,” Maravilla Vasquez said. “Anything can really happen outside of school without adult supervision, so anything can go bad at any given moment.”

Despite concerns about challenges to walkouts, there seems to be a consensus amongst students and staff that punishment aside, student demonstrations are vital and must be protected within FCPS. Student’s right to free speech and student advocacy, including walkouts, are protected under both the SR&R and the first amendment.

“We need to be able to use our first amendment rights to free speech. That’s how authoritarianism comes up, people not using their rights and just blindly going along with what other people say,” Firew said.

This story was originally published on The Wire on April 13, 2026.