SLRC in the News
23 July 2003

Kentucky School Board Allows Confederate Symbols

From the Associated Press

DANVILLE, KY --  Boyle County's school board has adopted a new dress code that eliminates bans on controversial symbols and emblems, including the Confederate flag.

In April, the school system repealed its ban on clothing that bore images of the Confederate flag after the Sons of Confederate Veterans told the school board that the previous code violated students' constitutional rights.

the new dress code does not ban specific emblems. It includes a ban on all shorts, skirts or dresses shorter than fingertip length and says the body's trunk must be covered. Headcoverings, including bandanas, are banned unless worn for health, safety or religious reasons. Students are required to wear boots, shoes or sandals at all times.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans said a precedent was set by a case that originated in a Madison County school in 1997. Two high school students filed a First Amendment lawsuit after they were suspended for wearing T-shirts with an image of the Confederate flag. The lawsuit was settled in September after going as far as the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

After the settlement, the Madison County school board amended its dress code to consider a "student's purpose" when determining whether clothing is inappropriate.

Earlier this year, 35 students in Beaufort County, S.C., were suspended from school after a dispute over clothing depicting the Confederate flag.

Reaction to the suspensions sparked a protest march to the school district office and a roadside protest where students waved the flag and held signs proclaiming "Heritage, not hate."

Under the Beaufort County school dress code, administrators may prohibit the wearing of clothing "which may foreseeably disrupt or interfere with the school environment."

Beaufort County school officials noted a March ruling by a different federalcourt -- the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals -- that school officials could prohibit students from displaying the Confederate flag on school grounds.

The ruling noted words such as "symbol," "heritage," "racism" and "slavery" are highly charged and often associated with discussions of the Confederate Flag.

"Real feelings -- strong feelings -- are involved," the appeals court wrote.  "It is not only constitutionally allowable for school officials to closely contour the range of expression children are permitted regarding such volatile issues, it is their duty to do so."

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled students' free speech rights don't end at the schoolhouse door, but other courts have ruled administrators are responsible for safety in schools.

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