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High school student arrested in New York after repeatedly showing up to class in-person on remote learning days
Image source: Fox News video screenshot

High school student arrested in New York after repeatedly showing up to class in person on remote learning days

He did it as a protest

A high school senior in New York was arrested after repeatedly showing up at his school in person on days when he was assigned to remote learning, Fox News reported.

Maverick Stow, 17, was suspended from school for five days after showing up for class Tuesday when he was supposed to be attending class virtually.

The next day, Stow showed up again, and police were called to the scene. They advised him not to come back, and he reportedly left without incident.

On Thursday, Stow showed up again, wearing a neon green shirt and with some local media attention, and was arrested for trespassing and taken to the 7th Precinct in Shirley.

"I feel that I was arrested for going to school," Stow told Fox News after being released from police custody. "That's all I ever actually did, I just went to school. I just walked out of the 7th Precinct because of wanting to go to school."

Stow's parents were aware of what their son was doing by repeatedly showing up on days when he was supposed to stay home, and they supported his protest. From KGO-TV:

Stow's parents said they support their son.

"Kids need to be in school every day. Virtual learning is not learning," said Nora Kaplan-Stow, Maverick's mother. "My son is being suspended because he wants to be in school."

Richard Stow said his son told him and his wife what he was planning to do.

"He's a very smart kid. He knows what he's doing. When he said this is how he wanted to handle things, we were like, 'Then go for it,'" Richard Stow said.

Even the school district, the William Floyd School District, agrees that students should be able to attend classes in person five days per week. However, state guidelines prevent them from doing that right now, and the district wants Stow to direct his protests toward the state.

"Our district agrees with Maverick's position that school should be held in person five days per week. However, we must follow the social distancing requirements set forth by the state; and, when it is deemed safe to do so by our government and health officials, we will gladly welcome all of our 8,800 students back," the school district said in a statement. "It is important for Maverick and his family to understand that we do not set state policy, enact laws or write executive orders, but we do abide by them. We cannot have students showing up to school on their non-scheduled in-person days and when requested to leave displaying insubordinate behavior to multiple school officials and refusing to follow their instructions. His rights as a student do not surpass the rights of the other 8,799 students we have the privilege of educating. If his goal is to get school open five days per week, he is encouraged to take his advocacy to his state elected officials."

The district also said that if Stow continues trying to show up to school when he's not supposed to, the entire high school will shut down in-person learning for all students.

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