SPRINGFIELD, Mo.- Controversy on the first day of school. Kickapoo High School students protesting over pride flags.  

We are told all this stems from a policy change that requires teachers to remove pride flags from their classrooms. The protest happened today at Kickapoo where the protest happened today around 2 pm. 

We spoke with Jimmy Anti, the organizer, who said they are protesting in solidarity with the teachers who are affected by this policy. 

“It was important to bring some attention to that for students and teachers here to compare and speak the public schools and unfairly targeted by district policies. By asking teachers to remove the pride flag, it just reinforces the hostility that we live in every day.” 

“We’re just fighting for the same comfortability that cisgender and heterosexual take on teachers.” 

This all began after last week when the principal of Kickapoo High School, Dr. Bill Powers asked teachers to take down any pride flags they have in their classrooms.  Powers enforced a policy that was implemented in the Springfield School District back in 2014. 

It states that the board of education expects all employees to conduct themselves in a professional, moral, and responsible manner. 

Many people like Jimmy Anti, who is a 2018 SPS graduate and local drag queen took to social media to express their feelings about the policy, which then turned into the protest that was led today.  

The Springfield School District did release a statement saying,

“Supervisors hold team members accountable for maintaining a professional standard.’ Employees will not represent their personal opinions as the opinion of the district. This applies to speech and to the use of district property, including the classroom.”