Texas school banishes Confederate flag

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HAYS, Texas, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A Texas school board voted to ban the Confederate flag in response to possibly racist-tinged vandalism on a black teacher's classroom door.

The Hays school board had voted back in 2000 to phase out the stars-and-bars from the district, but decided in a 5-2 vote Monday to pull the plug on the controversial image effective immediately.

The ban includes Confederate flags on students' clothing and on signs and banners at Hays High sporting events.

The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman said the vote was cast after some parents protested the flag was seen as a symbol of pride in southern heritage and that the alleged vandalism, which included the initials KKK, was not racial.

But the board agreed the time had come to banish the controversial symbol, which had been permitted on students' personal property since 2000. "If a teacher feels undermined because students are wearing the Confederate flag, I don't think we can support that," said board trustee Merideth Keller.