A school board in Maryland is expected to approve a policy on Wednesday that would ban flying the pride flag, which is associated with the LGBT rights movement, on school property.
The action by the Carroll County school board comes after school board member Donna Sivigny made a motion at an April meeting to come up with a flag policy.
Sivigny said many teachers told her they were “pressured or bullied to put flags in the classroom” and that it was “a problem that needs to be addressed.”
Fox News in Baltimore reported on the development:
The draft policy is a result of some teachers and parents expressing concern about the Pride flag being displayed inside some county classrooms. While the policy does not specifically mention Pride symbols, it lists what flags aside from the American flag that can be used:
- The Maryland flag;
- The Carroll County flag;
- Flags that are used as a part of a temporary unit of study within the approved curriculum;
- Flags or banners that denote a recognition of achievement and are approved by the Superintendent;.
- Sport tournament banners recognizing the participation of a school team; and
- Banners from colleges or universities or professional sports teams
The board also said that the school superintendent has to approve flag displays in common areas but that no flag could be “as large or as prominent as the current American flag.”
The Fox News report quoted Diana Flores, a critic of the proposal, who thinks the pride flag is a sign of “acceptance.”
“What we are doing is really advocating for students and trying to make Carroll County Public Schools a safe space for all students,” Flores said.
But the conservative group Concerned Parents of Carroll County says the flag has no place in the classroom.
“I think a lot of people want to confuse tolerance with acceptance,” Bryan Thompson of Concerned Parents of Carroll County, said in the article.
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