LGBTQ+ students feel erased as school boards ban pride flags in rural districts [View all]

(Detroit Free Press) The posters declared, "Everyone is Welcome!"

Laminated, with rainbow billowing across the top right corner and three cartoon people in a friendly embrace in the bottom left, the poster advertised the launch of Fowlerville High School's inclusivity club. The club was a space meant to "unite LGBTQ+, multicultural, and allied youth" to form a stronger sense of community.

But unity felt faraway at Fowlerville High to some LGBTQ+ students, where schoolmates tore the inclusivity club's posters down, said Gavin Tschirret, 17, who graduated from Fowlerville High in the spring.

At Fowlervlle, Tschirret and others said they felt as if some district forces were trying to cram them back into the closet, especially as the so-called culture wars seeped into their daily lives at school. This summer, Fowlerville's school board banned flags and displays at schools not deemed "content neutral," effectively nixing pride flags and displays. ...............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2023/07/31/michigan-school-districts-in-rural-suburban-areas-ban-pride-flags/70424788007/