MISSOULA — A Montana high school student has been disciplined for continuing to wear a Confederate flag sweatshirt after administrators requested that he stop wearing it.
The Missoulian reports 17-year-old Mitchell Ballas was suspended Tuesday after wearing the sweatshirt to Big Sky High School every day since last week.
Ballas says he wears the sweatshirt to stand up for the Missoula students’ First Amendment rights.
Principal Natalie Jaeger says she can’t comment on matters related to specific students, but she noted that several students have been displaying the flag on clothing and cars over the last month. She says other students have reported the displays to administrators each time.
School policy states that if a student’s behavior “constitutes a disruption of the learning environment,” administrators can reserve the right to discipline students.