REPUBLIC, Mo. — A rural Missouri high school student isn’t allowed to drive to school for a while – not because of how he drove, but because of the flag he likes flying in the back of his truck.
According to KY3-TV, Riley Collier, a student at Republic High School in southwest Missouri, has been prohibited from driving his truck to school because school officials say that his Confederate flag is a distraction to some students and was offensive to others.
Collier, who says that he doesn’t consider the flag racist, says that he doesn’t understand why he can’t fly it while driving to and from school.
“Just trying to express myself, it’s just like bumper stickers or anything of that nature,” Collier told KY3.
His father says that he supports his son’s decision to fly the flag.
“To my knowledge there’s nothing in any of the school handbooks that says you can’t do it,” said Gene Collier.
School officials declined to comment on the specifics of the matter because it involves a student.
“We don’t articulate every rule and regulation; no school district could do that. We don’t have the manpower, time, hours, energy to do all that,” Republic School District Superintendent Vern Minor told KY3.
Collier told KY3 that after his 30-day suspension is over, he’s probably not going to fly the flag again because the situation has created a hardship for his father, who now has to drive him to school each day.
