Hollister - San Benito High School Students wearing clothes with Mexican flags on Mexican Independence Day Friday were told to remove or cover them up to meet school policies, irking dozens of students and parents, local League of United Latin American Citizens President Mickie Luna said.
District policy prohibits students from wearing clothes that depict a flag - including the American flag - because it distracts students from learning, Principal Debbie Padilla. However, the policy has become frustrating to some.
"(The district) really needs to take a very close look at this policy," Luna said. "I wish that people would be more inclusive and then wouldn't have these problems with students."
Several San Benito High School students who wore clothing depicting the Mexican flag in support of Mexican Independence Day Friday were asked by school officials to cover up the symbol or remove the prohibited clothing, Padilla said. She said less than ten students wore such clothing and described the distraction as "minimal," but was required to enforce the rule.
"My top goal is academic success for all students," Padilla said. "And the only way I can accomplish this is to minimize distractions while students are learning."
Padilla wasn't sure when the board policy prohibiting flags was first established, but said that it was before she became principal last year. She believes the policy is fair because it applies to all flags.
"People have the right to express themselves, but the right to learn takes priority in our educational community," she said.
Flags, regardless of what they represent, distract students from learning and disrupt the school day, Padilla said. She explained that flag clothing, such as that worn by students Friday, created a diversion because it caused other students to ask questions about the meaning of the flag and spurred conversations that could not be quelled by teachers in the classroom.
Senior Stefany James, the student representative to the Board of Trustees, acknowledged that although the policy is unpopular with some students, most are more concerned about the rule being enforced equally.
"There are a few students who understand why the policy is in place," James said. "And if the policy is enforced correctly, it shouldn't be a problem."
One student came to school with a large Mexican flag draped around his shoulders Friday, which Padilla said was clearly a distraction.
But Luna and other members of LULAC were riled by the rule and the school's decision to prohibit such clothing.
"There are Mexican flags everywhere," Luna said. "It makes me wonder what is going on at San Benito High School."
LULAC will be looking into the issue and following the school's policy decisions closely, she said.
County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley believes there is nothing wrong with the policy so long as the district enforces the rule fairly.
"If you can't have American flags, I don't see why you should have Mexican flags," he said.
The high school's ban on flags surprised San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield.
"I've never heard of schools banning flags before," he said. "It is certainly a very sticky area of the law because students don't loose all of their rights at the school door."
Sarsfield will not be looking into the matter further, but said that he hopes the policy is applied judiciously.
SBHS Superintendent Jean Burns Slater said that a student who wore a T-shirt depicting the American flag would be treated the same as a student who wore a Mexican flag T-shirt.
"I would ask them to change their clothes," she said.
Slater also pointed out that students are allowed to wear the colors of the Mexican flag - or any other flag for that matter - just as they are allowed to wear green on St. Patrick's Day, but not Irish flags.
Dress code decisions are made by local school boards and vary throughout the county as well as the state. The Supreme Court has visited the issue of free speech in schools several times, as have several lower courts.
In June of 2003 the Third Appellate District of the California Court of Appeals addressed similar distractions that took students' attention away from learning. In that case, the court wrote that "because of the state's interest in education, the level of disturbance required to justify intervention is relatively lower in a school than it might be on a street corner."
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or browland@freelancenews.com.
Brett Rowland Brett Rowland is city editor for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 332 or browland@freelancenews.com
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