Virginia High School Students Suspended For Wearing Confederate Flag Apparel

A peaceful student demonstration at a Virginia high school ended with school administrators suspending 23 teens for wearing clothing emblazoned with the Confederate battle flag, which violates the school’s dress code, according to school officials, students and parents.

The students, who attend Christiansburg High School in southwestern Virginia, said they wore the controversial Confederate symbols to protest a school policy that prohibits the symbols, which they view as a violation of their free speech. Students are barred from wearing clothing that could “reflect adversely on persons due to race” and specifies “clothing with Confederate flag symbols” falls in that category.