HS student suspended after refusing to remove Confederate Flag shirt

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK) — Students at an Arkansas high school wore Confederate flags to school in support of the hashtag “History Not Hate” and are now facing the consequences. 

The Fayetteville High School students say they’re upset with how administrators are handling the situation. 

It’s part of the “History Not Hate” movement on social media. 

The students showed up to class wearing shirts and face paint bearing the Confederate flag. 

They were given a choice: take it off or be sent home. 

The school says one student didn’t comply and was given an out of school suspension. 

“We’re not trying to trample on their first amendment rights we’re just trying to have a safe and orderly school environment,” says Principal Dr. Jay Dosal.

“None of us are racist, none of us are doing it for hate it’s southern pride and we’re not going to take it off for anyone, it’s our flag, it’s Arkansas. This is the south,” says one student. 

According to the district’s rules, “attire that disrupts the educational process or otherwise interferes with the rights or opportunities of others to learn or teach is considered improper and unacceptable.”