Thursday's situation wasn't the first occasion in which the Confederate flag sparked controversy at East High. Lewis said that although the district supports the student's right to expression, "the district’s first priority is and always will be maintaining a safe and orderly school environment for student learning." Aside from that call, there were no other disturbances or complaints regarding the flag, Lewis said, and a police report was not filed. “The school received a call from a community member who saw the flag in the parking lot,” Lewis said.
Rather than remove the flag, the student voluntarily moved his vehicle off campus."Įast High’s vice principal and student resource officer, a police officer working at the school, became aware of the flag's presence at about 8 a.m. Therefore, East High School staff acted reasonably and appropriately when they asked the student to put the flag away.
"Similar incidents involving the Confederate flag last year led to fighting, and other material and substantial disruption of school. "This morning, an East High School student displayed a Confederate flag on his vehicle while parked in the school parking lot," DMPS communications officer Amanda Lewis said in an emailed statement.
An East High School student was told to remove a Confederate flag from his or her car or remove the car from the school's lot Thursday morning, Des Moines Public Schools officials confirmed.