Arlington students lead protests against Trump's education policies

ARLINGTON, Va. - The protests, dubbed the "Day of Student Action," are raising concerns over pulling funds from public schools or redirecting needed federal dollars to private schools, including religious-based private schools.

Arlington students protest Trump's education policies

FOX 5's Stephanie Ramirez spoke with Gunston Middle School students and parents protesting ahead of class on Tuesday. Their demonstration started at 7 a.m. A flyer being shared by the Arlington County Council of PTAs, highlighted effort as the "Day of Student Action."

The PTAs noted that a group of middle schoolers initiated the actions wanting to do something, upset with efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the Department of Education. Those protesting also raised concerns about the administration pulling federal funding for Arlington County Public Schools, especially through an executive order that parents say could redirect needed federal funding from public schools to private schools.

At another small Tuesday morning protest, a Tuckahoe community parent told FOX 5 they want to protect the diversity of their school system, adding that eight of the county's 25 public elementary schools are Title 1 schools.

The parent told FOX 5 the loss of public funding at these schools could hurt needed assistance like the meals program.

This protest also comes on the heels of a complaint filed by the conservative group "America First Legal," accusing five area school districts, including Arlington County Public Schools, of having illegal gender identity policies and not following President Trump's executive orders.

Day of Student Action amid legal challenges

The Department of Education launched an investigation into the NoVa school districts named in the complaint. As of Friday, the Arlington County Council of PTAs says the districts were issued an ultimatum: stop all programs that mention "diversity" or "equity" within 14 days or face a loss of federal funds. Here's the actual document they're referencing.

Although not all schools had listed times, at least 10 middle and high school communities were expected to participate in today's "Day of Student Action." The Arlington County Council of PTAs emphasized that Arlington County

Public Schools has not sanctioned these protests. This is coming from the students, backed by their parents. "In order to educate our students, we need to fund them appropriately. It seems like public education funding is already sort of at a crisis right now and we don't really need any more funding taken away from our students and diverted to other purposes. I mean it all goes back down to the separation of church and state and if some of these public education dollars end up going to private schools, some of which could be religious schools, then I see that as a violation of our fundamental civil rights," said APS Parent, Joe Cunningham.

"It doesn't matter how old you are, as long as you just have a cause and have the determination to put something together like this, then any age can be brave enough to just put yourself out there and make a change," said an 11-year-old APS student named Sofia.

At 12-years-old, another APS student named Page told FOX 5, "I think kids in public schools are going to be a big part of the future and I think getting rid of public schools is going to be really bad for that."