By Katie Northcott, News Director
The Tullahoma City Schools (TCS) Board of Education may adopt a new policy outlining expectations for flags and other displays on all TCS campuses.
Dr. Monica Blake-Beasley, a Criminal Justice teacher at Tullahoma High School, received a formal reprimand on Monday, September 22, for unprofessional language used in a Facebook comment concerning Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The reprimand and controversy surrounding it reignited scrutiny of Blake-Beasley’s choice to display a LGBTQ+ flag in her classroom.
Former Tullahoma Alderman Daniel Berry started a petition calling for the TCS Board of Education to adopt a policy allowing only American and State of Tennessee flags to be displayed in TCS classrooms. The petition has accumulated over 500 signatures at the time of this article.
“Our schools exist to educate, not to promote political or social agendas,” Berry wrote. “Allowing political or activist flags undermines fairness and distracts from learning.”
Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens confirmed a new policy is being considered in a statement to Peterson Media Group:
The Tullahoma City Schools Board of Education is considering a policy that outlines expectations for flags and other displays on all Tullahoma City Schools campuses. In considering this draft policy addition, we reviewed the board policies of two school systems (Coffee County and Tipton County), contacted the Tennessee School Boards Association, and consulted with our school board attorney.
Whenever a policy is being considered for approval, it is included in the school board agenda so the board can take action on it. Our next school board meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. If this draft policy is ready for action, it will be included in the agenda for board consideration.
The Coffee County School District recently adopted a policy that permits only American flags and State of Tennessee flags to be flown in classrooms. Read more about the Coffee County School District’s flag policy here.
The Tipton County School District allows only American and State of Tennessee flags to by flown on school grounds “unless it is a country, state, school, or United States military flag used solely for educational purposes within the adopted curriculum.”
Edit: This article has been updated to reflect Blake-Beasley’s graduate degree. The author was unaware of Blake-Beasley’s title at time of publication.
