The 2014 Jefferson County Public Schools protests were a series of demonstrations against the new

AP United States History Advanced Placement (AP) United States History (also known as AP U.S. History or APUSH () is a college-level course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. Course The AP U.S. History course is designe ...

(APUSH) curriculum in Jefferson County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Protests began on Friday, September 19, 2014, at Standley Lake, and

Conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

high schools when classes were cancelled at both schools because a high number of teachers called in absent to work. On September 22, the protests spread to

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

when students left class on marched on the Jefferson County Schools Education Center. On September 23, the protests spread to Pomona,

Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...

, and Ralston Valley high schools. Two days later, the protest grew to about 1,000 when Columbine and Dakota Ridge students joined together on a pedestrian bridge over South Wadsworth Boulevard. The protests were rooted in the election of a new Jefferson County Public Schools board in November 2013. The board's conservative majority of three, headed by chairman Ken Witt, appointed Dan McMinimee as superintendent and allotted funds to save two failing charter schools. Many students, parents, and teachers also protested the APUSH curriculum review proposed by the board, which wrote, "Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law." While demonstrating, students skipped lunch and free time; they were honked at by drivers outside Lakewood High. The

National Coalition Against Censorship The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is a New York-bas ...

, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, and the

National Council for the Social Studies The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is a U.S.-based association devoted to supporting social studies education. It is affiliated with various regional or state level social studies associations, including: the Middle States Council ...

sent letters to the Jefferson County Board of Education members stating their opposition to the proposal. On September 25, the school's superintendent's children were threatened by the demonstrators; the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office investigated. Some in the conservative media thought the teachers were encouraging their pupils to skip class and protest, but according to one of the leaders of the Columbine High School protests, as well as other students and teachers, that is untrue. Both

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

commentator

Megyn Kelly Megyn Marie Kelly (; born November 18, 1970) is an American journalist and media personality. She currently hosts a talk show and podcast, ''The Megyn Kelly Show'', that airs live daily on SiriusXM. She was a talk show host at Fox News from 200 ...

and Tea Party officials pejoratively referred to the students as "pawns", prompting backlash from the Jefferson County community. On October 2, 2014, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' interviewed Kyle Ferris, who said the community was disappointed with the school board and felt the need to exercise their rights as American citizens. The same day, the committee approved a new proposal, which prompted over 100 people to attend a rally at

Wadsworth Boulevard State Highway 121 (SH 121) is a 30.425 mile (48.96 km) long state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. SH 121's southern terminus is at Waterton Road near Littleton, Colorado, Littleton, and the northern terminus is at U.S. Ro ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson County Public Schools protests, 2014 2014 protests 2014 in Colorado Student protests in the United States Jefferson County, Colorado