In most cases, administrators have said the LGBTQ emblems are divisive and “ political.” LGBTQ students, parents and teachers affected by the bans contend that the new rules harm a vulnerable group of young people. Students, teachers and parents rallied Thursday in Newberg, Ore., to oppose an imminent vote by the school board that would prohibit Black Lives Matter and pride flags or banners in schools.
And in August, pride symbols were targeted at a high school near Dallas, where rainbow stickers were ordered to be scraped off classroom doors. Students at a high school near Jacksonville, Florida, were accused several weeks ago of harassing classmates in a Gay Straight Alliance club and stomping on pride flags. A teacher resigned in Missouri last month after he was told to remove a rainbow flag from his classroom and that he couldn’t discuss “sexual preference” at school.
Several other school officials and students around the country have targeted LGBTQ symbols.
