Controversial classroom flag policy in Kennewick called ‘political theater’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Policy restricts the display of any political flags, and props up American flag.
- Policy allows temporary classroom display of flags only for educational purposes.
- Vote passed 3‑2 with Galbraith, Valentine and Miller in support.
The Kennewick School Board on Wednesday night passed a new policy that will limit how teachers and staff can display non-U.S. flags on campuses.
The policy change passed 3-2, with President Gabe Galbraith, Vice President Micah Valentine and board member Josh Miller in support. Board members Mike Connors and Brittany Gledhill opposed it, as did student board representative Diego Anguiano.
It’s a similar concept to a policy the board considered three years ago. But that board — which had a different makeup then — shot down the change, calling it “convoluted” and “difficult to enforce.”
This new policy restricts the display of any political flags, including those that represent parties, movements or candidates, unless they’re used temporarily for educational purposes. Teachers can still display those flags for a short time while covering relevant curriculum.
That means any social or civic flags in long-term display promoting movements — including large gay pride flags — must come off the walls. It does not impact any school or university flags, such as those of the University of Washington or Washington State University.
The policy was passed on first and second reading, which means it will not come back before to the board for consideration. It also was amended in the middle of the meeting to strike language that would have limited multiple flags from being displayed and would have required the American flag be flown the “highest” in the classroom.
The specifics about how this policy will be implemented will be left to school district administrators.
Galbraith told the Tri-City Herald on Thursday that the policy ensures that classrooms are apolitical, neutral and safe spaces for students, where the priority is on learning.
It establishes clear expectations for educators about what classrooms should be, and it does not restrict the speech or expression of any students, staff or teachers, he said, maintaining it is not a gay pride flag ban.
“I do not feel like we’re chilling any speech,” he said. “This policy does nothing to the students, and I would say, too, I expect all our classrooms to be a safe space for all of our students.”
Galbraith touted the flag policy’s passage in a Thursday post to his campaign Facebook page.
Board member calls it ‘just flag wrong’
Advocates at Wednesday’s meeting said the new policy would help strengthen students’ waining civics knowledge and revitalize “patriotism” in time for the U.S.’s 250th anniversary of independence.
Opponents said the move would erode student and teacher free speech rights, especially in the queer community, with one school board member calling it a “solution looking for a problem.”
Connors said the school board previously spent five months working out the policy just for it to fail. He said this latest version does not further the district’s education goals, and he called it “political theater.”
He is in favor of making the American flag the most prominent symbol in classes, but says restrictions on other symbols hinder speech.
“This is silliness. We should not be wasting our time with this,” Connors said. “We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s just flat wrong. ... It’s a waste of the school’s time, it’s a waste of my time, and I’m embarrassed we’re having this conversation again to be very honest with you.”
Gledhill said she visited classrooms across the district’s three high schools in recent days and found just a couple flags that weren’t academics related.
The existing flag policy is working to make the American flag stand out. She said that patriotism is “strong in our classrooms” and the flag is the “first thing you see” when entering.
“This feels a lot like what we did just a while back with the critical race theory,” she said, referencing a failed effort two years ago to add the definition of “critical race theory” into district policy.
“I feel like we have an existing flag policy. It’s working,” she continued. “I toured 150 classrooms this week, and they’re awesome. The flag’s there — it’s the most prominently displayed thing in the classroom, far and away. There wasn’t a single classroom I walked into this week where I would have been uncomfortable sending my kids, my neighbor’s kids, any of our Kennewick School District kids.”
Valentine said he feels like Washington state law that requires teachers to impress upon students the importance of morality, civic rights and patriotism is “slipping.”
“If America offers more freedom and more opportunity and safety and prosperity than any other nation, then why do the majority of our students not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and the ‘National Anthem?’ Why are teachers hesitant to encourage that participation? Why are our national symbols treated casually or ignored in classrooms, parks and in public spaces?” Valentine asked.
“This is not a small issue. It speaks to the soul of our nation and whether we are passing it on to the next generation. The American flag is not a decoration — it is a visual representation of freedoms, of sacrifices, of opportunities that define this country. When students disengage from national symbols, it signals a deeper loss of civic understanding and of shared identity,” he continued.
Is it ‘suppression’ or ‘very positive’
Washington’s K-12 public school teachers and staff broadly enjoy many of the free speech rights held by Americans, but there are some limitations.
The First Amendment protects the rights of many teachers to speak as a private citizen on matters of public concern, but they don’t have those same protections while on the job and districts are allowed to limit certain speech while on the clock.
During Wednesday night’s debate, Miller said that flags have a tendency to exclude people — whether it’s a MAGA flag, a gay pride flag or a Black Lives Matter flag.
He believes that Kennewick’s secondary schools should take a page out of elementary classrooms, which have their walls lined with concepts, academics and learning opportunities.
“(Teachers) don’t need to put other things on the walls. They don’t need to put their personal political statements, they don’t need to put all sorts of other stuff that isn’t about learning,” he said.
Lisa Peppard, an education advocate and former school board candidate, said during public comment that the debate “all began with a pride flag in a high school drama classroom.”
“Any attempts to micromanage flags in a classroom began, and no doubt continue to be, as a thinly veiled anti-LGBTQ agenda,” she said. “Pride is not politics, it is humanity. And nationalism is not patriotism — leave the flag policy alone.”
Chuck Henager, another commenter, called the policy “unnecessary,” “dishonest,” and “intolerant.” It singles out flags that represent identity, community and belonging, and seeks to “silence them.”
“This is wrong. This policy is not neutral, rather it is suppression dressed up in neutral language,” he said. “This policy is not apolitical, but rather ironically is overtly political. That’s one of my main complaints about this policy is that it’s dishonest — it claims to be apolitical, but it is completely political.”
Megan Lee, a parent, says that teachers are struggling and believes that it is unjust to micromanage them. Students should learn to have those difficult, one-on-one conversations with people who they disagree with, she argues.
“We should be giving them more tools in their toolbox to make their classrooms engaging and interesting, instead of taking something away,” she said. “Sanitizing our schools of different opinions and things doesn’t protect our kids, it puts them at a disadvantage.”
Rachel Sambrano, a mother who homeschools, thanked the board for moving forward with the new flag policy. She called gay pride a “fake religion.”
“This would be a positive move for our city and for our children, because educating our children to be patriotic and strongly believe in our American flag is very positive, and it’s just what we need to be putting first,” she said.
This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 12:55 PM.
