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Board asks legal review of proposal to fly U.S. flag daily and restrict other flags at schools
Summary
A board member proposed changing district policy to require the U.S. flag be displayed every school day, to encourage daily flag-raising and pledge recitation, and to limit other flags; the board asked the superintendent to send the proposed language to legal counsel for review.
Board members discussed and endorsed sending a proposed amendment to the district’s flag policy to legal counsel for review. The proposed changes would require the U.S. flag to be displayed daily during the school year, encourage students to raise and lower the outdoor flag and suggest daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance over the loudspeaker. The draft would also limit on-campus display of other flags to those explicitly enumerated in the policy (U.S. flag, state flag, POW/MIA flag).
Board members and the superintendent noted recent litigation in other Oregon districts and advised running the proposed language by the district’s attorney and OSBA (Oregon School Boards Association) to reduce legal exposure. One board member registered a formal nay when the chair called for consensus to send the draft to counsel; otherwise members agreed to proceed with counsel review.
Legal counsel was given direction to check the proposal for conflict with federal flag code, state and federal free-speech precedent (Newberg litigation was cited as background) and other statutory constraints. The superintendent will return counsel’s recommendations to the board for a first reading or further action.
