Defending Education launches K-12 school protest tracker — records 269 walkouts already in 2026

Defending Education has launched a protest tracker of K-12 student walkouts, Blaze News has learned. The national grassroots organization released the tracker amid a surge of student protests against immigration enforcement efforts.

Defending Education estimated that the number of school protests has significantly increased since 2022. The organization gathered this information from social media posts, news articles, and press releases.

'By allowing these protests, school leaders are increasing the chance of harm befalling students and decreasing much-needed instructional time in the classroom.'

The K-12 Student Walkout and Protest Tracker estimated 21 demonstrations in 2022, 10 in 2023, 13 in 2024, and 43 in 2025. So far, in 2026, Defending Education calculated that there have been 269 protests at U.S. schools.

Walkouts were recorded in 48 states and the District of Columbia and involved approximately 421 schools, including 33 middle schools.

“The total listed is on the low end of the overall number of schools that had student walkouts/protests due to many news articles not listing names of specific schools that participated,” Defending Education noted.

A number of the total protests, 74, were organized or assisted by activist clubs or nonprofits.

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Photo by John Moore/Getty Images

Defending Education’s tracker provided a list of those protests by state and district, noting in each instance the cause behind the walkouts.

The reasons for the demonstrations included disapproval of Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions and President Donald Trump, as well as support for the LGBT community and Palestine. Students organized marches to raise awareness about climate change, for school funding, and to call for stricter gun laws.

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Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images

Defending Education noted that its current list is not comprehensive and will be updated as the organization receives additional information.

“This data shows a multiyear trend of student walkouts for the latest far-left political cause. By allowing these protests, school leaders are increasing the chance of harm befalling students and decreasing much-needed instructional time in the classroom. Administrators need to put an end to these acts of ‘civil disobedience’ before they lose complete control,” Rhyen Staley, the research director at Defending Education, stated.

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