Report: Minnesota student walkouts received training from progressive activists

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(The Center Square) – Student school walkouts in Minnesota protesting the presence of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents are not entirely planned by teenagers and have connections to broader progressive activism, according to messages obtained by an education organization.

Director of Research for Defending Education Rhyen Staley told The Center Square that “the current school walkouts” are “organized by groups like the Sunrise Movement.”

Defending Education says it is a nonprofit focused on restoring education from what it describes as harmful agendas, while the Sunrise Movement is a progressive advocacy group.

Staley told The Center Square that student-led protests being organized by political advocacy groups “prove that it is part of a larger leftwing protest movement that uses any issue to advance a political agenda.” 

As The Center Square reported: “Hundreds of students from high schools in St. Paul, Minnesota, walked out of class” in mid-January “to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Twin Cities.”

In its latest report, Defending Education revealed the connections between the Sunrise Movement and protesting Minnesota youth. 

The report stated that “group messages and training documents shared with Defending Education suggest” that the Twin Cities Student ICE Response group, which is composed of K-12 students, is "receiving training from the Sunrise Movement and its members.”

Message chats obtained by Defending Education from the Sunrise Movement to the Twin Cities Student ICE Response group “include timelines of upcoming trainings and protests as well as calling for the recruitment of friends,” as shown in the report.

Defending Education stated that one member of the Sunrise Movement “influencing Minnesota students” is a Brown University student “who has past ties to campus encampments.”

The Sunrise Movement did not respond to The Center Square's requests for comment. 

Staley from Defending Education told The Center Square that the protests affect “Minnesota students and families in a multitude of ways, from student safety to loss of academic time.” 

“Many of these students already struggle to read and do math, these walkouts take critical time away from academics and structured learning opportunities,” Staley said. “Not only are students not getting the education they deserve, but they are being encouraged to forgo class time to protest,” Staley said. “The school to activist pipeline must come to an end.”