Tennessee school district bans American flags on campus

Sam Fox
Updated



A Tennessee school district has banned students from bringing all flags, including American flags, to school in an effort to prevent students from potentially offending others. Students who bring any flags to campus will be kicked out of school.



The Dickinson County School District came to the decision after various debates over the Confederate flag and its removal from the South Carolina Statehouse sparked controversy over the offensiveness of cultural or national-specific flags in general. Student Arianna Heisler considers the ban a violation of freedom. She said:

"I just think that's a right. It's freedom of expression and I don't think you should be able to take that away from us. If you want to fly a Confederate flag and if you want to fly a rainbow flag, fly a rainbow flag. Whatever you want."


School officials suggest that students may still express themselves in other ways. They do not feel that this ban is an attack on personal freedoms or patriotism in general, but that it is rather a strategy to make people feel included and safe. Dickinson County director of student services Steve Sorrells said:

"While this was not necessarily an attack on the American flag, there were some other issues we're trying to address. It's not an unpatriotic act by any means because we have a number of ways in which students do learn how to be patriotic and express American pride."

What do you think on the school district's American flag ban? Let us know in the comments!

UC Irvine recently lifted its ban on American flags. Watch this video to find out why:

UC Irvine Reverses Ban on Displaying American Flag
UC Irvine Reverses Ban on Displaying American Flag



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