Teachers now banned from displaying gay pride flags in this NC school district
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Johnston County banned pride flags in schools, citing classroom neutrality aims.
- School board deadlocked on removing LGBTQ+ language from anti-bias policies.
- Policy changes tied to concerns over losing federal funds under Trump-era guidelines.
Johnston County has banned gay pride flags in schools but is deadlocked for now on removing wording from its anti-discrimination policies that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ students and school employees.
Citing complaints about some teachers displaying gay pride flags, the Johnston County school board voted 4-2 on Tuesday to approve new limits on what can be displayed at schools.
The board deadlocked 3-3 on removing sexual orientation and gender identity from its policies on cyberbullying, discrimination and employee hiring.
The deadlock could end at the next meeting on Aug. 12, when board member Kevin Donovan is present. Donovan, who has supported the policy changes, was absent Tuesday due to what board chair Lyn Andrews said was a business trip.
Several board members said the district will still protect all students and school employees despite the policy changes. Johnston County is North Carolina’s seventh-largest school district, with 37,000 students.
“It’s very disturbing to me that anyone thinks if I am of some different thing I’m not safe in Johnston County Public Schools, because I don’t believe that,” Andrews said. “And if it’s true I want to know about it because we are here for every child and every faculty member.”
But the dissenting board members said the proposed changes went too far.
“It’s important that they know when they see somebody wear a human rights pin or a rainbow pin the message is that this is a safe place for people in the LGBTQ+ community,” said board member Kay Carroll. “It’s comforting to see these symbols of acceptance and tolerance.
“When they see these symbols — which are signals — they know they are safe to be their authentic selves. We’re just treating human beings decently.”
Andrews, vice chair Terry Tippett, Michelle Antoine and Jeff Sullivan voted for the policy change that would ban pride flags. Carroll and April Lee voted against the policy.
Sullivan joined Carroll and Lee in opposing the changes to the anti-discrimination policies.
Only certain flags not allowed in schools
The board revised the policy on the distribution and display of non-school material.
Principals and teachers are now required to limit displays, such as signs and flags, in schools and classrooms. They only can display materials that “represent the United States, the state of North Carolina, Johnston County, the school name, mascot, post-secondary institutions, school-sponsored events, sponsorships, military flags, family photos, student art and/or the approved curriculum.”
“We don’t need a flag flying other than the United States flag, North Carolina flag, school flag to show us that we’re all a group, we’re unified as students in the school and we’re going there to learn,” Antoine said.
Antoine said that the policy change will ensure the focus in the classroom is on learning.
“They’re not there to become activists, to be shown different advocacy flags,” Antoine said. “They’re not there for that. That’s not the purpose of a public school system. This is getting down to brass tacks on what a public school system is supposed to be doing.”
But Carroll said the policy change will “end up causing us more trouble than we can shake a stick at.”
“It’s a knee-jerk reaction to a pride flag,” Carroll said. “That’s not indoctrination. It’s a viewpoint.”
Carroll warned that the change will lead to problems such as people complaining about teachers showing pride flags and gay family members in family photos. Antoine responded by saying people are already complaining.
Dropping LGBTQ+ due to Trump funding threat
The proposed changes in the anti-discrimination policies come after the board had tabled a vote in March to remove references to sexual orientation and gender identity.
The policies returned with the removal of not just sexual orientation and gender identity. The updated policies no longer list any specific group as being protected against discrimination, including race, color, religion and ancestry.
In its place, the policies include a hyperlink to a state statute on school bullying. The state statute mentions specific groups, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Antoine said the change is needed due to the Trump administration’s threat to cut federal funding from schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. She said all groups will still be protected and covered by groups that are included in the state statute.
“Sexual orientation and sexual identity — if they’re in your policies — that’s going to be a problem for federal funding,” Antoine said. “That’s what precipitated us moving forward on this.”
Antoine said the district previously had added sexual orientation and gender identity due to the Biden administration’s threat to remove federal funding from schools that didn’t make the change.
But Lee pointed out that Johnston’s school board is comprised only of white people, and they’re considering removing wording that would protect different groups that are protected.
“Either we’re going to stand with people or we are not and when we decide to bury things in a hyperlink because we’re afraid of sexual orientation and gender identity,” Lee said. “Nobody wanted to take this out until then when we started using language that made people personally uncomfortable.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM.