After seeing Libs of TikTok share the post about an Edmond North student who was told he can’t hang a flag from the back of his truck, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters turned to social media Wednesday night to proclaim that “God and country are now hated by the woke left.”
Walters also said Edmond Public Schools “has a lot to explain.”
By that point, though, the district already offered an explanation: School policy doesn’t allow flags of any kind on campus or at events. That includes the student’s American flag.
Jeff Bardach, Edmond Public Schools’ public information officer, said the school district doesn’t allow any flags on campus due to potential disruption.
“You can’t allow one [flag] and limit another,” Bardach said. “It’s been our long-standing practice to not allow students to bring flags.”
Students are notified of the policy every year, he 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,” Bardach said.
Who is Libs of TikTok? Social media influencer appointed to Oklahoma advisory committee
Libs of TikTok is a social media account run by Chaya Raichik, a former Brooklyn real estate agent who grew up in Los Angeles. She created the @LibsofTikTok handle on Twitter, now X, in April 2021. The account often reposts photos and videos of users sharing liberal views while adding derisive conservative commentary.
In January, Walters appointed Raichik to serve on an advisory committee examining Oklahoma public school library books for what he describes as inappropriate materials. Walters has refused to identify anyone else he appointed to the panel.
Critics have noted that bomb threats against schools have followed intense social media attacks when Libs of TikTok posts about a school or teacher.
On Friday, Libs of TikTok shared another post showing that some Edmond students came to school with American flags on their vehicles in a show of solidarity with their peer.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ryan Walters, Libs of TikTok post about Edmond North flag controversy
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