Georgia school district's anti-Confederate symbol policy stands for now

By The Associated Press

07.26.01

Printer-friendly page

ATLANTA — In a case being watched by school administrators throughout the South, a federal judge has refused to revoke a Seminole County school system's ban on T-shirts bearing images of the Confederate flag.

U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands denied a request for an injunction against the south Georgia school district's ban on clothing embossed with the Confederate battle flag.

Nine Seminole students and some parents filed the lawsuit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union. They claimed the school's policy of banning clothing "that might be offensive to others" is overly broad.

The July 23 ruling is at least a temporary victory for the school district, which banned the Confederate emblem because it is considered divisive and racist by some black students, even though it is often used as a backdrop on T-shirts celebrating the joys of deer hunting or four-wheel-drive trucks.

Sands found there was "significant evidence of past disruption related to racially sensitive symbols including the Confederate battle flag" and that the potential for disruption was sufficient enough for him to back the school board, at least for now.

Sands noted, however, that the students' right to free expression is "substantial," and asked for more information from school attorneys about the potential for disruption because of the emblem and whether it should outweigh the teens' constitutional rights.

He said he would make a final decision in 60 days.

ACLU staff attorney Robert Tsai said he was "cautiously optimistic" about his clients' chances. "He didn't definitely say the school was justified in banning what it banned, so I think we're sort of back to where we started," Tsai said.

Seminole School Superintendent Larry Bryant said the rules were put into effect several years ago after some white students and faculty said they were offended and intimidated by Malcolm X and "Black Power" T-shirts worn by black students.

"The Confederate flag was not singled out," Bryant said. "It never has been. It was just a disruptive force."

Bryant said the issue had begun to take its toll in the rural county. The combination middle school/high school has about 1,000 students who are equally divided along racial lines.

"We live in a small, close-knit community here, and it is one of those unfortunate situations where nobody wins," he said.

Related

Lawyers: Settlement near in challenge to school's Rebel flag ban
Pending agreement announced just before trial is to begin in case of Kentucky teen suspended for wearing Confederate flag shirt.  09.12.02

Confederate T-shirts spark debate
Georgia students suspended as rebel flag disputes arise in schoolhouses.  04.15.01