Utah's flag ban: Does it target LGBTQ or promote political neutrality?
A Utah bill banning most flags in public school classrooms and government buildings will advance to a Senate vote one year after lawmakers rejected a similar bill inserted during the final hours of the session.
Members of the Senate Education Committee approved HB77, Flag Display Amendments, along party lines on Friday after hearing from a number of constituents who opposed the bill which they said targeted the rainbow, or pride, flag that represents LGBTQ social movements.
Bill sponsor Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, did not mention the pride flag, framing the resurrected proposal as an effort to achieve 'political neutrality' in the classroom so that students can focus on learning.
'We want to make sure that if there is something that's considered political, or makes someone feel uncomfortable, that they shouldn't have to worry about the government pushing and enforcing or pushing any type of ideology on anyone,' Lee told the committee.
Lee's bill originally applied only to classrooms and included a new cause of action for parents to sue schools that were out of compliance. The lawsuit provision was removed and the scope of the bill was expanded during its presentation to the House Education Committee earlier this month.
In its current form, the bill would prohibit government entities and public school employees acting within their 'official duties' from displaying a flag in or on government property unless the flag is one of a dozen exceptions.
Teachers in their classrooms, and cities, counties or the state on government grounds, would only be allowed to 'place a flag in a prominent location ... where the flag is easily visible' if the flag is one of the following:
United States flag.
Utah state flag.
Municipal flag.
Military flag.
Tribal flag.
Country flag.
Officially licensed public university flag.
Official public school flag.
Olympic flag.
The bill clarifies that historical state and national flags may be temporarily displayed for educational purposes and that flags temporarily displayed by an organization authorized to use public schools would be allowed. Altered versions of the permitted flags would not be allowed.
The bill only applies to actual flags, not to depictions of flags, lapel pins or signs. An amendment to the bill reaffirmed that nothing in the bill removes a school's 'obligation to protect all students from discrimination.'
The state auditor would be tasked with establishing a process to investigate alleged violations of the bill. The bill would require the auditor to notify government entities of each allegation and of each allegation the auditor considers substantive.
If a government entity or school district fails to resolve the violation within 30 days, there will be a fine of $500 per violation per day.
Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, questioned why the Legislature should reconsider a bill that would override local control and prevent personalized policies at the district level.
'This bill would create a lot of tension, a lot of struggles,' said Riebe, an educator in the Granite School District. 'I just really don't understand why we can't trust our local school districts to work with their teachers to make sure that what's being presented in their schools is appropriate for whatever district they're working in.'
Multiple individuals who gave public comment, including Equality Utah policy director Marina Lowe, several educators and a representative of the Utah League of Cities and Towns spoke against the bill on constitutional grounds, saying that it violated municipalities' First Amendment rights.
Michael Curtis, from the state's Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, told the committee that Utah court precedent supports the ability for legislators to restrict the speech of political subdivisions and to choose which private speech it promotes.
Corinne Johnson of Utah Parents United argued that Lee's bill is actually necessary to protect students' rights to have a nonpartisan and nonsectarian education.
'That is why we are here today, to restore constitutional protections to Utah classrooms and ensure that students don't have one political agenda prioritized over another in the classroom,' Johnson said.
A long line of constituents took issue with Sen. Heidi Balderree, R-Saratoga Springs, referring to certain unnamed flags in classrooms as 'propaganda.' One commenter, Charlotte Weber, said that pride flags are not political because the existence of individuals identifying as LGBTQ is not political.
'This flag represents a minority of people who are bullied and marginalized and downtrodden and this tells those people that they are welcome,' Weber said. 'Trying to ban this flag specifically sends exactly the opposite message.'
With one week left in the 2025 legislative session, HB77 will now be added to the queue to receive a floor vote in the Senate.
During the final hours of the 2024 session, a procedural trick was used to vote on a similar bill without having passed through the regular committee process.
The move split the Republican supermajority in the Senate, leading to the potentially popular proposal failing in a 20-9 vote.
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