Oklahoma school district faces community backlash after banning student from flying American flag on his truck

When an Oklahoma high school told student Caleb Horst that he couldn’t fly an American flag from his truck on school grounds, the community showed its support of the student by placing US flags on their cars and trucks and driving over to the school parking lot Monday morning.

Edmond North High School told Horst on Aug. 21 that having the flag waving from his truck on school grounds was forbidden – even though the student says he’s been doing just that “for quite a while,” according to 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,” Horst shared. The Edmond Public Schools district tried to defend the decision by saying this is just a “practice” at the school, though it is not an official policy.

"It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses. This practice has been in place for several years and is explained to our students at the start of the school year along with various other policies and procedures. This is designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day. It 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," the school said in a statement Thursday. 

"To be clear, this is not about the American flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the American flag prominently and in the proper, respectful way outside each of our buildings and in our classrooms. Not only do we recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we start our school day, but we also present the colors and play the national anthem at most of our athletic events. All of these things are done in the proper fashion according to flag etiquette."

That explanation hasn’t satisfied students and parents who are furious over the decision. Many vented their outrage by bringing their vehicles with flags over the school on Monday morning.

The school district tried to circumvent the protest by cautioning parents of high school students in an email not to get involved, according to the New York Post. Nonetheless, more than 50 vehicles could be seen in the school’s parking lot by 7 am Monday and many of the occupants of those cars and trucks were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance for good measure. “In the end, we’re all American, all united under that flag, and there’s not anything anyone can do to separate us,” Horst said.

Another high school senior, Vance Miller, said he was displaying the flag because he has a brother in the military and “he’s fighting for that flag so we should be allowed to fly it. It represents us, it’s unity, it represents us as one and it’s our freedom, we have people that fight and die for that flag every day, so I think we should be allowed to fly it,” Miller continued. “It’d be different if we were trying to make a political statement, but there’s nothing political about it.”

But it’s not just the community that’s upset with the school’s “practice.” Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters posted on X: “Kids in Oklahoma should be allowed to display the American flag and not be punished for being patriotic. New guidelines will be issued concerning the flag and honoring our country,” Walters said, promising that these new policies will “ensure no student is ever targeted for having an American flag.”