Washington state’s Kennewick School District Board will hold a final vote this month on a policy limiting the size, number, and placement of all flags except the U.S. flag in school classrooms.
The action was prompted by parent and student complaints about the prominent display of the gay pride flag in some classrooms and has resulted in a spirited debate about the needs of LGBT students and the meaning of inclusion.
A draft of the policy was approved by a 4-1 vote of the board on Dec. 14, requiring that an American flag must be displayed in each classroom and that no larger flag may be displayed, nor any hung higher, covering a window, or in multiples.
The policy will take effect if passed a second time on Jan. 25.
Proponents see the policy as a fair compromise. Opponents think it is unnecessary and harmful to the well-being of LGBT teens.
Initial Complaints
The controversy began in May when a student and parent complained to board member Gabe Galbraith that a large gay pride flag, hung over a classroom window, created a distraction for students.In August, after a second parent and student complained and the matter spread to social media, Galbraith and fellow board member Micah Valentine sought a resolution.
“We decided to have a discussion on the board and look for a solution that would be a compromise to satisfy as many as possible,” Galbraith told The Epoch Times.
“Some wanted flags removed. Others wanted the flags there for safety,” meaning the well-being of LBGT students.
School board minutes and video recordings trace the progress of the debate as community members addressed comments to the board.
At the Aug. 24 board meeting, the parent of a high school student stated that a teacher had displayed a gay pride flag in the classroom and encouraged students to attend an LGBT club, actions that the parent felt demonstrated a lack of neutrality making it uncomfortable for her son to attend class.
A student said he had experienced backlash for stating his opinion about the presence of the flag and that teachers should not express their political or religious beliefs in school.
Mounting Controversy, Confusion
By the Sept. 14 board meeting, the issue had gained wider notice and 17 community members addressed the board, only one explicitly favoring board action.Some who spoke were under the misapprehension that the board intended to ban the gay pride flag, possibly because an unofficial draft policy had circulated that would have banned all flags and posters concerning a “political, quasi-political, or controversial issue.”
The origin of the document is unclear as a copy obtained by The Epoch Times includes references to both the Kennewick School District and the neighboring Richland School District.
“We’ve never discussed banning any flags, ever,” Galbraith said, speaking of the Kennewick School Board.
Those opposing board action stated a variety of reasons, including the need to make LGBT students feel accepted and the possibilities of causing negative outcomes including backlash in the community, the failure of a proposed tax levy for the district, and incurring costly legal challenges.
By Oct. 12, comments addressed to the board focused squarely on the safety of LGBT students.
“The pride flag did not come first,“ high school teacher Joe Ansingh told the board. ”The bullying of and hatred toward our LGBT students did.”
“The pride flag hangs in my classroom as a symbol for the acceptance that the students will find there. Parents send their children to our school, to my classroom, and those kids encounter hatred, prejudice, bullying and are made to feel like they don’t belong. The pride flag, in itself, is a simple thing but the weight it carries as a symbol to our LGBT students is paramount.”
Forty-one percent of LGBT teens in Washington seriously considered suicide in the previous year and 12 percent attempted it, according to a 2022 report by the Trevor Project.
Tense Public Forum
Through the fall, social media discussions on the topic intensified, Valentine told The Epoch Times. He held a town hall meeting on Oct. 5 to foster discussion. “In good faith, I wanted to hear what they had to say.”The atmosphere at the two-hour session was tense according to one attendee, and the result left Valentine disappointed. “I don’t feel like people wanted to compromise. I felt like they wanted to attack.”
Galbraith estimates public opinion on the matter is evenly divided, though most do not express their thoughts publicly.
“We have those in the community who call or email and thank us for addressing this. And then we have the other side sharing their support for the flag at board meetings. It’s a very vocal group sharing their feelings.”
Public comments at the November board meeting shifted to the subject of inclusion as some speakers emphasized that the rainbow flag is a symbol of welcome while others said it had become a cause of division.
A combat veteran stated his belief that the American flag is the only truly inclusive flag.
Some community members, including Valentine, think the best solution would be to remove all flags from the school except the national and state flags.
“A gay pride flag may make some feel included but make others feel excluded,” he said.
He believes that’s true of any symbol of identity or allegiance, including the thin blue line flag in support of police or the Black Lives Matter flag.
Others see the display of flags as constitutionally protected free speech and a symbol of acceptance for LGBT people and others who have been guaranteed civil rights under Washington law.
“It’s important for our school board to keep in mind state laws that protect LGBT flags and those representing other historically marginalized communities,” Carly Coburn, chairperson of PFLAG Benton Franklin, an advocacy group for LGBT people, told The Epoch Times.
Attempt at Compromise
The December draft of the flag policy was intended as a compromise position according to Galbraith and Valentine. “No side is totally happy with a compromise, but both sides can live with it,” Valentine said.“I support this compromise because I think it follows the federal flag code very well,” Elizabeth Vann-Clark told The Epoch Times.
Clark, an interested observer from the adjacent city of Richland, Washington, said the two communities often adopt similar school policies.
“I think this policy is appropriate because it addresses concerns some community members have, it doesn’t violate First Amendment rights, and it allows pride flags and other banners to continue to be displayed.”
Galbraith and Valentine both expect some version of the compromise policy to be adopted this month.
Tensions have eased somewhat as community members recognized that a total ban on flags is unlikely.
The Kennewick flag policy typifies growing involvement in public education by conservatives.
“Kennewick is symbolic of the grassroots movement across the nation focused on school boards and the eruption of parent groups to defend and protect children from harmful ideology,” Liv Finne, director of the Center for Education at Washington Policy Center told The Epoch Times.
Finne likened the rise of parent advocacy groups such as Moms for Liberty and Parents’ Rights in Education to Mothers Against Driving Drunk, the organization started by a California mom that has been successful in influencing legislation related to impaired driving.
Galbraith and Valentine were elected to the board just over a year ago on a platform of opposition to school mask mandates, a controversial sex education referendum, and the teaching of critical race theory, which holds that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions, ensuring the dominance of white people.
Both won handily, Valentine capturing 59 percent of the vote in his race and Galbraith receiving 62 percent against his opponent.
Getting Politics Out of Schools
“Moreover, students will not be taught that their race determines their value or worth or that members of any race are inherently racist oppressors or victims.”“Our goal is to get politics out of schools,” Valentine said.
Some see the rise of conservative involvement in education as a nationally coordinated effort rather than a grassroots movement.
Critics say that groups like the 1776 Project, the American Principles Project, and other conservative organizations have poured money into local elections trying to insert their ideology into schools.
Yet Galbraith reports that 78 percent of his campaign funding came from donors within the Kennewick School District compared to 39 percent of his opponent’s funds and that he received no money from special interest groups.
“I think what we’re seeing is a community responding to the woke agenda in a positive way,” Finne said. “Leaders have emerged in Kennewick that are restating basic fundamental principles about our country … No one is saying you can’t discuss [controversial] issues, but the environment should be neutral.”
The Epoch Times requested but did not receive comments from the Kennewick School District superintendent and remaining board members.
