A high school kid in Oklahoma has received considerable support after being told he couldn’t fly the American flag from his truck.
Caleb Horst, a senior at Edmond North High School, said school administrators informed him on August 21 that it was against school policy to bring flags onto campus. Horst, on the other hand, told local news station KOCO that he’d been flying the flag from his vehicle “for quite a while” without incident.
“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,” Mr. Horst said.
Students and parents gathered on Monday morning, before classes began, to support Horst and his right to fly the flag. According to KOCO, over 50 automobiles with American flags circled the school in protest.
“I have a brother in the military, so it hit home to me because I felt like he was fighting for that flag, and we should be able to fly it. It would be different if we were attempting to make a political statement, but there is nothing political about it,” Edmond North senior Vance Miller explained.
“If it’s the flag today, what is it tomorrow?” Lynn McNeely, a mom of an Edmond North student, said. “This is not a protest. It is not political. It is not about red. It is not about blue. It’s about red, white, and blue. So, where should we draw the line?
“In the end, we’re all American, all united under that flag, and there’s not anything anyone can do to separate us,” according to Horst.
Edmond Public Schools disputed that its policy on flag flying had anything to do with patriotism. They told KOCO that the practice was for safety and to avoid being a distraction.
“Edmond Public Schools does not allow pupils to fly or bring any type of flag on our school campuses. This approach has been in place for several years and is communicated to our kids at the beginning of each school year, along with a variety of other regulations and procedures. This is intended to minimize interruptions and distractions throughout the school day. It is also done to maintain a safe school environment since flying flags on vehicles cause safety hazards in the parking lot and can cause damage to other vehicles,” Edmond Public School officials stated in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“To clarify, this is not about the American flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the American flag in a correct, respectful manner outside each of our buildings and classrooms. We not only recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we begin our school day, but we also present the colors and perform the national song at the majority of our athletic events. “All of these things are done following flag etiquette.”
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters and “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider both weighed in on the dispute, posting videos in favor of the youngster online.
Walters announced on Monday that the state will issue new guidelines to districts addressing kids’ rights to fly the American flag.
“No school in Oklahoma should prohibit students from waving the American flag.” We’ve had Americans die for that flag, for students to be able to wear it, wave it, and be proud of the American flag,” Walters said in a video posted on X. “My department right now is working on guidelines that we will be issuing to districts to ensure that no student is ever targeted for having an American flag and also that our schools will promote patriotism.”
Schneider congratulated the kid on social media, closing the video with a “Yeehaw!”
“I want to applaud Caleb Horst and all of the wonderful people who are supporting him in Edmond, Oklahoma,” he stated in a Facebook video. “Everyone who has shown up with flags on their trucks and flags on their cars, these are the kinds of people we need to not only support but shout their names and their patriotism from our rooftops and from our bumpers.”
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