Dozens of protesters blocked a Detroit school bus yard on the first morning of in-person summer classes.
About 100 protesters from different advocacy groups held up signs and blocked the exit of the facility, seeking to derail the first day of in-person summer school, WJBK reported.
“We just know that it’s barely safe to open up partially the economy, why is it safe for young kids to go to school and worse, be transmitters for the families and the teachers,” said Detroit Will Breathe Activist Tristan Taylor.
WDIV reported the protests were ongoing as of 8:30 a.m. Detroit Police plan to end the demonstration peacefully or disperse the crowds using any means necessary.
The Detroit Public Schools District had been preparing to host in-person summer classes starting Monday, nearly four months after schools in the state shut down due to the Chinese coronavirus. Summer school is optional for both students and teachers.
But one advocacy group responsible for the bus blocking says that the district should remain closed until there is a coronavirus vaccine, adding that it plans to sue the district to keep it closed to in-person instruction until then.
The Detroit Free Press reported that about 4,000 parents signed up their children for in-person summer school classes. Nearly 300 teachers applied to teach in-person.