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School districts could soon be required to create new policies ensuring students can fly the American flag on school grounds, according to proposed rules published Monday by the Oklahoma Department of Education.

The proposal comes three months after Superintendent of Schools Ryan Walters said his agency was investigating Edmond Public Schools’ flag protocols after a student’s social media post. The Edmond North High School student said he was told he could not hang a flag from the back of his pickup truck.

Edmond Public Schools said its policy is to not allow students’ flags of any kind on campus or at events. The district displays the American flag outside each school building and in classrooms.

Under the Education Department’s proposal, districts’ policies would have to ensure the American flag can be flown on school campuses without infringement, promote respectful presentation of the flag and allow every student to display the flag. Districts’ accreditation could be downgraded for noncompliance.

The flag policy is one in a slate of proposed rule changes, including one to require students to prove citizenship or legal immigration status at enrollment (though the agency says they could still enroll without documentation).

Other proposals include requiring teachers to pass a test based on the U.S. naturalization test to receive or renew certification, requiring districts to report to the agency employees that resign or are not re-hired due to suspicion of abuse or neglect of a student and rescind the operational procedures of a multicultural equity advisory committee.

The full list of rule changes are published on the department’s website and are open for public comment through January 17. Then, the rules proceed to the Board of Education, the Legislature and the governor for approval.

Comments, questions, story tips? Please reach out via email.

— Jennifer Palmer

Recommended Reading

• A signing bonus drew 61 teachers to schools in rural Oklahoma, according the Department of Education. The program followed a similar round of signing bonuses last year that drew a lawsuit from teachers told to pay back the money. [Oklahoma Voice]
• Student cellphones are fueling vicious school brawls. The fight videos then often spark new cycles of student cyberbullying, verbal aggression and violence. [The New York Times]
• Higher education is requesting a $95 million base budget increase plus a new $150 million line item for the state’s research universities. [NonDoc]

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