High School Student Charged With Criminal Trespass For Attending Class In Remote Learning Protest

Maverick Stow, a senior at William Floyd High School in Long Island, N.Y., attempted to attend class for the third day in a row in defiance of the school district’s hybrid learning plan and his five-day suspension issued after he first attended class in protest on Tuesday. School administrators called the police on Stow on his third day of protest. Officers arrested the teen and later charged him with third-degree criminal trespass, according to Newsday.

After Stow’s arrest, the school district threatened to close the hybrid remote/in-class learning schedule and switch to fully remote classes.

“If Mr. Stow continues to try to access school grounds each day that we are open, we will close the high school — and its approximately 3,000 students — to all in-person learning and it will be all virtual for the foreseeable future,” school spokesman James Montalto said in a statement.

“We are still in the midst of a pandemic and will abide by the regulations set in place by our government and health officials designed to keep our students and staff safe. As we have said, Mr. Stow’s rights as a student do not surpass the rights of any of our other 8,799 students,” Montalto continued. “Most of our in-person classes at the high school are at maximum capacity according to the square footage of each classroom.”