Superintendent orders Oklahoma schools to promote patriotism after student told to remove US flag from truck

Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told the Fox News Channel that his school district would be enacting new policies to allow students to show their patriotism after an Oklahoma high school student was forced to remove an American flag from his truck by school staff earlier this month.

Walters spoke on "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Saturday to declare that under new state school guidelines, no student will be punished for displaying the flag or showing their patriotism. Rather, they will be encouraged to love their country and better understand its founding.

"We’re not going to tolerate this anti-Americanism," Walters told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth.

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Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told Fox News Channel about new school guidelines promoting patriotism. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

The public school superintendent’s appearance on the channel came several days after Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst was reportedly instructed by school officials to remove the American flag from the pick-up truck he uses to drive to school.

As Horst told local outlet KOCO, school staff told him it was school protocol to keep flags off campus. Edmond Public Schools denied their stance on flag flying had anything to do with patriotism. They told KOCO the practice was about safety and to avoid becoming a distraction.

"It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses. This practice has been in place for several years and is explained to our students at the start of the school year along with various other policies and procedures. This is designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day. It is also done in an effort to provide a safe school environment as flying flags on vehicles creates safety issues in the parking lot as well as can cause damage to other vehicles," Edmond Public School officials said in a statement previously provided to Fox News Digital.

The statement added, "To be clear, this is not about the American flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the American flag prominently and in the proper, respectful way outside each of our buildings and in our classrooms. Not only do we recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we start our school day, but we also present the colors and play the national anthem at most of our athletic events. All of these things are done in the proper fashion according to flag etiquette."

Horst said that he had been flying the flags from his vehicle for some time, and had been confident that the school would not try to step on his right to free speech in displaying them.

"I’ve never really had problems with it before, and it’s our First Amendment, so it’s kind of hard for them to infringe upon our rights," he said.

Walters slammed the decision and signaled his department was working to change state school rules to address it.

"No school in Oklahoma should tell students they can't wave an American flag. We've had Americans die for that flag, die for students to have the right to carry the flag, to wave the flag, to be proud of that American flag," Walters said in a video posted to X. "My department right now is working on guidelines that we will be issuing to districts to ensure that no student is ever targeted for having an American flag and also that our schools will promote patriotism."

Fox News Channel’s interview with Walters led off with some of the new guidelines the superintendent’s department has enacted to prevent such incidents, among them one that obligates schools to develop a clear policy that ensures flags can be flown and displayed, another that requires students in the state to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week, and another ensuring that schools file a report to show they are complying with these guidelines.

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Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst said school officials told him he could not fly the US flag from his truck. (istock)

Walters told Hegseth that he wants his schools to stand against the anti-Americanism pushed by the "Biden administration, by the teachers’ unions, by the radical left."

"We’re not tolerating it in our schools. We want patriots. We want our students flying the American flag," he declared.

The superintendent added that his administration has "acted swiftly to say this will never happen again. Every school in the state will protect the students’ right to fly that flag. We will fly that flag, and we will promote patriotism in Oklahoma schools."

Walters also said that the state’s schools are "redeveloping our social studies standards to get more of an understanding of the American founding."

"We need more patriotism. We’ve seen our schools become leftist indoctrination mills pushing hatred for country. That’s not going to happen in Oklahoma," he declared. 

The superintendent issued a memo to state schools in June directing them to incorporate the Bible and Ten Commandments into their curricula for grades 5-10, primarily for historical context. At the time, Walters stated his directive aligns with educational standards approved in May 2019.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Kristine Parks contributed to this report.

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