There was a recent protest against the war on terror and racism and who knows what not in Seattle. The disturbing thing to me was that it appears a Seattle School District Board Member, Sally Soriano, http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/soriano.xml may have been in favor of the kids skipping class. From the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002596673_protest01m.html

“While the protest is not sanctioned, some officials are supportive. Seattle School Board member Sally Soriano said some teachers are organizing homework for students who attend, in order to minimize educational disruption.
Soriano said she may attend the rally and is personally supportive of its message and its educational benefits, if it gets students talking about Iraq and world events.”