Hundreds of Seattle high school students rallied outside Seattle Public Schools' headquarters on Monday to demand that the district drop plans to move to a two-lunch schedule at all of its comprehensive high schools.

"What do we want?" students chanted during the boisterous protest in the late morning and early afternoon, as their numbers spilled into the parking lot and side street. "One Lunch! When do we want it? Now!"

The district announced the switch from one to two lunches at seven comprehensive high schools last week, after the school year was already underway. The district contends the change is necessary to adhere to state requirements around instructional and meal time and to "ensure all students have equitable access to meals and a safe, comfortable lunch experience," according to an FAQ posted on the district's website.

Students and parents pushed back. Students began organizing Monday's walkout. They emailed School Board directors. They organized an online petition that had gained more than 5,000 signatures as of Monday at 9:51 a.m.

On Monday, when some of the high schools were expected to implement the new schedule, hundreds of students walked out of school around 11 a.m. Many took public transit or personal vehicles to rally outside the district's headquarters at the John Stanford Center in Sodo.

As students chanted outside the building's doors, a group of student leaders were allowed inside to meet with interim Superintendent Fred Podesta, who apologized for the rollout of the policy, but did not walk back the proposed change.

"The way we rolled this out, that was on us, and I'm sorry about that," Podesta told the six student leaders inside his office.

In Ballard, some students caught buses to the district's headquarters, while others stayed near campus, holding signs as vehicles driving by honked in support.

"They need to listen to our voices," Bailey Jones, an 11th grader at Ballard High School, said as she held up a sign that read, "You're destroying our community. No Double-lunch."

"They need to listen to student voices."

Evvi Geokezas, a senior at Ingraham High School and the associated student body president, said the proposal will affect academics and students' ability to retake tests and work with teachers, which often happens during the single lunch period. A two-lunch schedule will also be distracting because some students will be on break while others are in the classroom working and teachers are teaching, she said.

In its communications, the district has suggested that clubs could meet before and after school. But Geokezas said that's a nonstarter for some students, many of whom are involved in sports and have other commitments during those times.

"Students have jobs, students need to provide for their families, and it's just completely inequitable for students -- and it's not a solution," she said.

"Students need to keep their clubs. They are going to lose members because lunch is the only time kids can come together," said Geokezas. "The school unity and togetherness that would be lost because of this is huge."

Some Garfield High School seniors who attended the rally said they had been fighting this lunch issue for years. They had sought the opposite this year: to return to one lunch period after having two lunch periods last year.

"We didn't get listened to until the North End schools found it to be an issue for them," said Neha Olivar, 17, a senior at the school. "It's a big issue of race and economics."

Garfield students said they know how the split lunch affects the school community, with students having to decide whether to meet with an affinity group during lunch or eat. It shouldn't come down to choosing between going to an affinity space, eating or getting help from a teacher, they said.

In a letter late last week Podesta acknowledged the feedback from families, and apologized for the disruption. He reiterated that the change was necessary to comply with state law, and suggested that student clubs meet before and after school, use advisory periods or have smaller meetings and then meet as a full club at other times.

In the FAQ posted this weekend, the district said the two lunch periods will cut down on long lines, make it easier for students to find a place to sit, and give students a "healthy amount of time to eat."

But students at Ballard High School said many students get lunch off-campus or bring lunch from home, and that many of the concerns the district sought to address didn't exist at their school.

Some students and parents have suggested a single, longer lunch than the current 30 minutes students are allotted. But the district's FAQ says that "a longer lunch would mean less class time or a longer school day."

The two-lunch schedule will also support the culinary staff, the district said.

Podesta's letter to families last week noted that the School Board was not involved in the decision to change the schedule. Indeed, board members were as blindsided as families and students.

In response to an estimated 200 emails from students and families about the schedule change, District 4 Director Joe Mizrahi, whose district includes schools in Fremont, Queen Anne, South Lake Union and parts of downtown, said he was working to see what the board could do to delay the switch to allow district staff to hear directly from students to work out a solution.

"Beyond delay, if adequate solutions can't be reach(ed), I am ready to do my part to try and roll back these changes entirely," he wrote to students. His district includes Lincoln High School and The Center School.

Mizrahi said that he, District 2 Director Sarah Clark, whose district covers schools in Ballard, Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood and Magnolia, and School Board President Gina Topp are hosting an online town hall for students and families on Monday night.

Clark, who attended the rally and listened to and spoke with students, said that in an ideal world she'd reverse the decision and go to the individual school communities to learn about their specific needs before making a proposal.

At lunch policy walkout, Seattle students tell district, 'Listen to our voices!'