It’s a prison that has become a playground for students and staff who have been beaten by inmates.
Inmates at the Yakima School District in central Idaho are fighting for their lives, according to a report from the local NBC affiliate, KOMO.
They are on a hunger strike, and one of their demands is the removal of the school board from power.
“I want to know why it’s in our school district and not in some other district,” said Kayla Kuehn, a junior at the school, where about 200 students are in classes.
Kuehn said she was beaten on and off the job for the past three years.
She and other students have been on a 16-day hunger strike to force the school to stop funding the prison, the Idaho State Journal reports.
The school board refused to meet with Kuehns parents or staff to explain the reasons for the strike, but said it was following a protocol.
The students’ demand for a return to a more normal school environment is a clear attempt to force school officials to meet their demands.
“They want to move on to another district where they’re not punished, to get away from their teachers, to avoid the school system,” said Kuehm.
The district is part of the Idaho National Guard and was founded in 2008.
Idaho’s prisons are notoriously overcrowded, with nearly 2,000 inmates per 100,000 students.
The students are being held in a “high-security” prison in a high-crime area.
They are not allowed to leave the prison and are denied any outside contact.
They were not allowed outside school for two days last week, according the Idaho Statesman.
Students say the school is a “bondage factory” that they are forced to work for, and they are beaten if they get out of line.
“Every time we go outside, we’re being hit on our heads and we’re having to work harder and harder to get to the school,” said student Jessica Kuehler.
They are being forced to sleep in the cafeteria, and many of them have already been forced to quit.
“They’re in there for four to six months at a time, and then they get sent home,” Kuehl said.
The Idaho State Guard has refused to comment on the situation and is notifying Kuehrns family, according a news release.
