Students at Durant High School in Cedar County walked out of class Tuesday to hold a "sit in" in the school's hallway. They say they want answers about what happened to their principal. A few days ago, their longtime principal was escorted out of the building and placed on administrative leave. Now, students are attempting to find out why.

"At the beginning of the day a bunch of us were just talking about going to the auditorium and sitting there," says a Durant High Senior. The student's plan was to hold their protest after lunch. But word spread to school administrators and they had to modify their plans. "There were people guarding the auditorium and the auditorium itself was locked, so they did not go there.  So, we all just sat there in the hallway and then the bell rang."

The school guidance counselor came and told the group of students that they needed to go to class. Students refused and instead, all 50 of them sat in the hallway. They demanded to know why the principal was placed on administrative leave. "We were just standing up for her, so she didn't get fired and just taking a stand."

The students have their own ideas about why the principal might be let go. They say there has been a tug-of-war between the superintendent and the principal for years. "I think she got unfairly targeted because she stood-up for us. She's our principal, so I'd hope she'd stand-up for us," said another student. 

While the students hope the "sit in" will help, they've also started gathering signatures for a petition. "They got as many people as they could to sign it, so they could take it to the school board and reinforce the fact that we want her here."

All the students who participated in the protest in were given a truancy notice for missing class. The superintendent says the matter is a personnel issue and cannot comment.