A heated debate at recent Williamson County School Board meetings will be moving to the Tennessee General Assembly next year.
Representative Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, is sponsoring legislation to prohibit traditional public and public charter schools from displaying any flag in the classroom that isn’t the official United States flag or the official state flag of Tennessee. This legislation would effectively ban all pride flags in public schools.
Representative Bulso told the Tennessean he was encouraged to file the bill by parents in his county and a school board member who were concerned about “political flags.”
“A school should be a place where a child goes to learn, not a place where a child goes to be indoctrinated,” said Bulso in an interview with the Tennessean. “We’re simply trying to remove political statements that either educators, administrators, or others want to make in a school setting so that the school can focus on educating the child, and not getting involved in these kinds of political issues.”
Over the past few months, the topic of whether pride flags should be allowed in the classroom has remained a consistent issue at Williamson County School Board meetings. The board itself has yet to address the issue, but it has continuously found a place in public comments.
In September, nearly three dozen parents and students attended the board’s meeting to express their opinions on pride flags in the classroom. Supporters argued that the flags offer a safe space for LGBTQ+ students and that opposition to the pride flag goes against the district’s character. Those who opposed claimed the flag has no place in the classroom.
The following month, students complained of intimidation from adults who opposed pride flags in the classroom. The local chapter of Moms for Liberty also pushed for the school board to do something similar to Bulso’s bill and ban all flags except for the U.S. and Tennessee state flags.
The Tennessee General Assembly will take up Representative Bulso’s bill next month when the new legislative session convenes.
