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- A proposal to ban political flags from classrooms, including pride flags, passed in the Utah House and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
- Rep. Trevor Lee, the bill sponsor, says the measure is meant to maintain political neutrality in schools.
- LGBTQ and free speech advocates maintain that the bill is targeted at gay pride flags, and they oppose it.
SALT LAKE CITY — A measure banning flags perceived to be too political from schools, including gay pride flags, generated questions and concern from some but has received a favorable vote from the Utah House.
HB77, sponsored by Utah Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, passed 49-20 on Friday and now goes to the Utah Senate for consideration.
It's drawn opposition from some LGBTQ advocates, but Lee said the bill is meant to assure political neutrality in school classrooms, though the flag restrictions would also apply in certain circumstances to other government buildings and offices. The Utah House briefly discussed the matter Friday morning, returning to the issue later in the afternoon for the final vote, also to minimal debate.
"And what we're trying to do here is make sure that we have neutrality as it pertains to politics," Lee said. Many flags, he said, have become symbols of the political left or right, "and we would like to keep that stuff out of the classroom so they can become a place where our children can learn and study and not have to worry about any type of politics being pushed one way or another."
The measure spells out flags that are permitted at schools, with flags not specified in the bill deemed off limits, at least in classrooms and areas of government buildings open to the general public. Permitted banners include flags of the United States and other countries, Utah and other U.S. states, the U.S. military branches and Native American tribes. The black-and-white National League of Families POW/MIA flag would also be allowed, and with Utah hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics, the measure was amended later Friday to also permit Olympic and Paralympic flags.
Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, was the only lawmaker to ask Lee about HB77. He expressed a measure of reticence toward the bill and ultimately voted "no," along with six other Republicans and 13 Democrats.
"To me, I guess I would rather have fewer statutes about it and common sense on the (school) district level to make things still work," he said. "And it gets a little bit nervous to me the more rules that we put in place."
House Democrats issued a statement after the vote decrying the legislation as a form of censorship aimed at pride flags.
"HB77 is yet another example of unnecessary legislation aimed at silencing expressions of support and pride for our LGBTQ+ communities. Despite persistent rhetoric from legislators about the sanctity of small government, this bill unwisely restricts teachers' ability to make their classrooms safe and welcoming for their students," reads the statement. "Legislating classroom decor makes a mockery of the concept of local control."
Likewise, the measure has drawn sharp opposition from advocates for the LGBTQ community, who similarly say it's specifically targeted at keeping gay pride flags out of classrooms. Reps from the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and Project Rainbow, an LGBTQ advocacy group, met with reporters on Thursday to voice their concerns about the measure.
Broadly, Project Rainbow Executive Director Jacey Thornton views the measure as a limit on free speech and a possible precursor to more free speech restrictions. More specifically, Thornton worries about the impact on kids who otherwise might feel a sense of reassurance brought on by the presence of a pride flag in school.
When in a classroom, the rainbow-colored flag "signals to our community (members) who are being bullied by kids at school that this is a teacher I can talk to, that can see me," Thornton said. The flag, Thornton went on, isn't "celebrating sexuality; it's celebrating our representations of our authentic self."
While Lee's measure makes no mention of pride flags, Thornton pointed to prior social media posts from the lawmaker as evidence that he's taking specific aim at banners related to LGBTQ rights.
The Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday briefly discussed HB77, with some council members wondering how it would impact the ability to display flags in personal offices and other areas of the Salt Lake City-County Building. They also wondered whether it would prohibit flying of the Olympic flag and flags of sports teams at city offices. The question with regard to Olympic flags was addressed with Friday's amendment and Lee, queried on bill specifics Friday by Ward, offered some clarifications.
A teacher could fly a pride flag in his or her private office, Lee said, and could display a three-dimensional representation of a rainbow in his or her classroom. "So this bill is just defining flags and ... the definition of flag is within the bill. And if it's not a flag, then yes, you could display that," Lee said.
Likewise, the flag restriction wouldn't apply to a government worker hanging a flag in their personal office as that sort of expression is "First Amendment protected," Lee said. The restriction, however, would apply to display of flags in front of government buildings and on posters put up in school hallways by students.
House Speaker Mike Schultz had offered supportive comments when asked by reporters about the bill Thursday.
"Look, we want kids in the classrooms to be focused on education. We want education to be focused on educating our students, regardless of a political flag," he said. "This isn't to me, not about pride flags. It's not about (Make America Great Again) flags. It's not about Don't Tread on Me flags. It's let's just focus on educating our kids and our students, and let's keep it at that."
Contributing: Bridger Beal-Cvetko
