A Virginia high school told a student to remove American flags from his truck. His family opted to homeschool him instead.
Wirestock/Getty Images
- A high school senior withdrew from his school when they wouldn't let him fly a flag on his truck.
- A school parking policy says large flags or banners are prohibited because they are distracting.
- The family has started a GoFundMe for $5,000 to get the car wrapped in the American flag.
When a Virginia high school tried to enforce a rule that would keep a student from flying a flag on his truck, his family opted to pull him from school instead of complying.
Christopher Hartless said it is "bull crap" that he can't fly large American flags from the back of his pickup truck at school.
"If we want to represent our flag for our country then we should be able to," 17-year-old Hartless told local Fox affiliate WFXR-TV.
The high schooler did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In his first few days of senior year at Staunton River High School, Hartless was reprimanded for flying American flags from the back of his truck, which is against the school's parking policy.
"Large flags or banners are not allowed to be flown or displayed on vehicles due to their distractive nature," the school's student driver contract states.
But Hartless and his family say the school is infringing on his First Amendment rights.
"I don't understand how it's a distraction if they have one displaying in the front of the school where everyone can see it," Hartless told WFXR.
The school's principal did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Sunday.
After being warned to remove the flags, the school rescinded Hartless' parking pass, ABC News affiliate WSET-TV reported. Not wanting their son to have to take the bus, Hartless' parents have opted to home school him.
"First you can't fly the flag, next you can't do this, next you can't do that, sooner or later you're not gonna have no rights at all, and then where are we gonna be?" Hartless' father, Allen Kingery, told WFXR.
Kingery organized a GoFundMe asking for $5,000 for an American flag vinyl wrapping for the truck, saying Hartless is "trying to make a stand at his school."
In a statement to WSET, the school reiterated its parking lot policy but said it "proudly" flies the flag throughout the school.