Concerns Raised Over Student’s Safety During Anti-ICE Protest

A Chicago middle school student with special needs found himself alone on a busy freeway after leaving his school to participate in a walkout against ICE, much to his mother’s dismay. She accused the school of failing to ensure her child’s safety.

Eleven-year-old Richard Hurley accidentally followed his classmates out of Dundee Middle School during the protest but soon had trouble keeping up. The plan was for students to remain near Route 72, but things got chaotic.

Richard ended up wandering dangerously close to a busy intersection at Highway 72, Higgins Road, and Main Street in West Dundee—far from the school—before he got scared and called his mother for help.

“I don’t feel safe. I’m just scared to go back. Something could happen again,” he told local news.

He described feeling isolated, saying, “No one knew how far they were going… I was like the last one standing. So I was kind of all alone.”

His mother, Alexa Blasdell, 34, immediately contacted the police, who located Richard about ten minutes later on a busy road.

“He said, ‘Please come get me. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m so scared,’” she recalled, clearly shaken by the incident.

Blasdell is seeking answers, stating that her son wasn’t informed about the walkout. “That’s not right, because my child is supposed to be safe at school,” she emphasized, noting that Richard has a federally protected disability plan.

She expressed her frustration: “In any case, why didn’t you notify me of your tardiness or absence?” It’s troubling for her that Richard could leave the campus without supervision or her permission, even though she wasn’t fully aware of what the protests entailed.

“That’s not right because my child should be safe at school. And if they can’t keep my child safe, they need to take responsibility for that,” she asserted, her concern palpable.

The mother of three is now contemplating legal action against the school district, all while considering whether to homeschool Richard or find him a new school.

In response, District 300 Superintendent Martina Smith stated, “The safety and health of all students and staff is our top priority.”

She added that the district takes family concerns seriously and is reviewing the situation thoroughly.

The district also claimed families were informed on February 13, five days prior to the walkout, about students’ interest in protesting peacefully, asserting that they “took intentional and proactive steps” to keep parents in the loop.

However, they noted that due to privacy laws, specific circumstances could not be disclosed.