Students from across the country are walking out of school today on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting to demand action from lawmakers.
- Students hold National School Walkout on Columbine anniversary
- April 20 is the 19th anniversary of the school shooting
- Students to demand change from lawmakers
Students say nothing has changed since that school shooting and they want lawmakers to know that now is the time.
A 16-year-old girl who grew up 20 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School started the National School Walkout as a change.org petition after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 people dead, including 14 students.
Over 250,000 people have signed it and pledged to walk out of school today at 10 a.m. -- the time of the Columbine school shooting.
Friday's walkout was organized entirely by students and for students. Some students from St. Pete High School said they haven't felt safe at school since the Parkland shooting, and they want to see changes made at the federal level.
"I'm constantly sitting in class thinking of ways that I could hide, which way could he not see me through the glass panel through the door, could I crawl in that cabinet? Would I fit? and I've never really truly thought about those things but now I just felt myself going through that scenario over and over again," student Taylor Redington said.
"We want change. We are demanding change because something has to happen. We can't just continue on living like this and ignore the problem, we're telling the government that something really is wrong," Redington added.
After the walkout, students will head to St. Pete City Hall to rally.
Jeffco Public Schools, the district where Columbine High School is, sent a letter to all students saying they do not support the walkout.
They have dedicated today, April 20, as a day of service in remembrance of the lives lost and they're encouraging students to spend the day volunteering, not protesting.