TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A student-led protest aimed to persuade Leon County School leaders to close brick and mortar schools until there are fewer positive coronavirus cases.
The group, Students for Safe Schools, is calling for action all throughout the week, leading up to Friday's student walk out.
About 20 protestors raised signs and chanted outside of Leon High School, near the corner of Tennessee Street and Gadsden.
The students who participated had support from local activists as well as from students across the state.
Maddelina Kaji, a senior attending Leon High School digitally, shared why the thought of coronavirus spreading through schools is worth her action.
"This means so much to me because my grandfather died in April because of coronavirus," said Kaji. "So, since then, trying to prevent the spread has been my number one priority and really how I've been dealing with that trauma. So that's why I'm here today. I don't want anyone else to ever experience what I experienced."
The group also shared fliers on cars parked nearby with ways to connect for future action.
Their demonstration comes just after the Leon County School district confirmed its first seven cases of coronavirus in schools within the first week of opening brick and mortar.
Governor Ron DeSantis and Robert Corcoran ordered all public schools to reopen by August 31 or lose funding.
