An Oklahoma high school student was recently banned from flying the American flag on his truck while on school grounds, prompting an outpouring of support for the student from the local community and significant backlash against the school.
According to KOCO, officials at Oklahoma’s Edmond North High School told Caleb Horst, a high school senior, that he was not allowed to have the American flag displayed on his truck while on school property on August 21.
Horst told KOCO, “I’ve never really had problems with it before, and it’s our First Amendment, so it’s kind of hard for them to infringe upon our rights.”
In defense of the decision to prevent the American flag from being displayed by students on school grounds, the Edmond Public Schools District released a statement obtained by KOCO, which says, “It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses.”
The school district claimed that the practice is “designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day” and is “also done in an effort to provide a safe school environment as flying flags on vehicles creates safety issues in the parking lot as well as can cause damage to other vehicles.”
Edmond Public Schools claimed that the issue was “not about the American flag or patriotism” and that the school “proudly displays the American flag” and follows proper “flag etiquette.”
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Despite the school district’s effort to defend its ban on students displaying the American flag, The New York Post reported that students and community members gathered in the school’s parking lot on Monday to peacefully protest the school’s policy and support the American flag. The outlet noted that while the school district emailed parents to warn against attending the protest, over 50 vehicles participated in Monday’s protest.
“In the end, we’re all American, all united under that flag, and there’s not anything anyone can do to separate us,” Horst stated.
In a video on X, formerly Twitter, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters said, “No school in Oklahoma should tell students they can’t wave an American flag. We’ve had Americans die for that flag, die for students to have the right to carry the flag, to wave the flag, to be proud of that American flag.”
Walters explained that his department was working on guidelines to issue to Oklahoma districts to “ensure that no student is ever targeted for having an American flag.”
