On Wednesday, March 1, a group of students plans to facilitate a walkout to protest the recent anti-LGBTQIA+ bills being debated in the Iowa legislature. The Iowa QSA, or Queer Student Alliance, a youth-led organization, is heading the walkout as Iowa lawmakers come closer to potentially banning gender identity from being taught or added to the curriculum for grades three or below. According to Western Iowa Today, “The bill bans practices such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, surgeries, and more.” Other laws include HF 182, HF 8, HF 9, HF 327, SF 83, SF 85, SF 159, and SF 110. The walkout will be statewide.“If a student chooses to participate in this activity in a manner that does not cause a schoolwide disruption and [they] remain on school grounds, they will not be disciplined for truancy,” AHS principal Heather McKay said. McKay mentioned the importance of the Supreme Court decision in Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District, which ruled that students’ first amendment rights are not shed when they enter school.

Quinn Weil, the student spearheading Atlantic’s branch of the walkout, spoke on the matter. “The main reason this walkout is happening is because others choose to ignore the harm that’s being done. Along with that, many people promote hatred and discrimination towards the LGBTQ+ community, especially the trans and gender-non-conforming community.” They also said, “In order to change something, people need to be aware of what they’re trying to change. In this case, we’re telling people that discrimination and hate are extremely common. We need to prevent it and not accept it.”

The walkout will take place at 1 p.m., during 7th period. More information about the March 1 Walkout can be found online.

Updates to this story were made for clarity on March 1, 2023.