The Frederick County Board of Education is setting up teachers, principals and administrators up for a lot of unnecessary headaches.

The board, in a split vote, agreed to allow so-called alternative flags to hang in classrooms. The policy under consideration would allow such flags, but only if they’re not disruptive.

Flags such as the gay pride flag or a Confederate flag are meant to show support for a particular point of view. By their nature, they are disruptive if there is any disagreement on the topic.

Sometimes, people want to show such flags to provoke the opposite side of the political spectrum — and it almost always works.

The board voted 5-2 in favor of the policy.

We encourage board members to think again — focusing on the possible pitfalls, rather than on the good intent.

At a recent board meeting, the conversation was quite heated around the policy potentially allowing various flags in the classroom, such as MAGA, Confederate or pride flags, an indication of the divisiveness of such displays.

Board Vice President Rae Gallagher advocated allowing flags that would promote inclusivity and acceptance in the classroom. The problem is, one person’s display of inclusivity is another’s display of divisiveness.

Gallagher, Board President Dean Rose, and members Karen Yoho, Chad King Wilson Sr. and Janie Inglis Monier approved the new Policy 425. Board members Jaime Brennan and Colt Black voted against it.

Policy 425 previously permitted only the United States and Maryland flags in classrooms.

Yoho noted that the discussion about alternative flags first arose when a Nazi flag was discovered in the window of Governor Thomas Johnson High School in 2020. Presumably that would still be forbidden.

The proposed update to the policy would allow other flags to be displayed at a school, the county office, other places that the school board conducts business or in a classroom as long as the flag “does not disrupt the learning environment or infringe on the rights of others.”

Brennan asked FCPS Chief Legal Counsel Steven Blivess what flags are prohibited or allowed. Blivess referenced the new policy, saying that any flag is permitted as long as it does not create a disruption or infringe on someone’s rights.

Black said this new language is “subjective” and suggested it should be struck and classrooms should only display the United States and Maryland flags.

Questions abound on the specifics of this policy. Who decides what flags can be displayed, and where? Can a student or a group put up a flag? Can a teacher? Can a principal order flags in every classroom? Must anyone seek permission? And if permission is denied, can one appeal, and to whom?

Is one objection enough to signify a disruption to the learning atmosphere? Is it up to the student to object? Their parents?

Black is correct that the language is subjective, and that means someone in the school system must decide. Will different rules apply for different schools?

“For example, let’s just use a MAGA (Make America Great Again) flag, in a rural school where the population is more Republican, they won’t be offended by that,” Black said. “But if you take that same MAGA flag down to Frederick High, there might be some offense.”

Black also used Catoctin High School as an example where “nobody’s going to care” about a Confederate flag, but other schools would be offended.

We appreciate his point. Different communities might have different points of view on politics, but even within a school or a classroom, viewpoints might clash.

The new policy seems to invite trouble and discord. Teachers can show flags as part of a lesson, but it’s better to avoid them otherwise. The best answer might be to revert to the old policy, limiting flags to those of the country and the state.

— Frederick News-Post