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State restricts flags displayed in schools, government buildings [1]
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Date: 2025-05-21
It’s now against the law for a teacher in a school to hang a Pride flag in their classroom.
House Bill 819, brought by Flathead Republican Rep. Braxton Mitchell, puts strict stipulations on what flags can be displayed at schools and other government buildings.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the legislation late last week. It’s unclear what penalties, if any, there will be for violation of the law.
“Allowing nongovernmental or politically charged symbols on state property creates inconsistency in enforcement, legal challenges, and public divisiveness, undermining the neutrality and inclusivity of government spaces,” the law reads.
The bill passed along party lines in both the House and Senate. During his testimony for the bill, Mitchell said it was about fairness and neutrality in government.
“I don’t think in Flathead County they should be flying a Trump flag,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think in Missoula County they should be flying a Kamala Harris flag.”
The flags that are now allowed include the United States flag, as well as Montana’s, and any other state, city, tribal, and military flag.
There’s also a specific stipulation which states: “Flags honoring law enforcement officers, military service members, and public service organizations provide appropriate, nonpolitical recognition of their contributions to public safety and national defense.”
It’s unclear if that includes the Thin Blue Line flag, which honors law enforcement but can be viewed as political. That flag wasn’t brought up in either hearing.
The flag law also says any “federally recognized” nation’s flag can be flown as well as school mascots. So while Taiwan’s flag could not be flown, a high school football team is protected if they run onto the field before a game with their flag. And, since Iran and North Korea are recognized as nations by the federal government, those flags technically could be displayed under the new law.
It is, however, unclear if a Confederate flag would be protected as it is both politically charged, and a flag of historical significance, for which the law has a stipulation. The Gadsden flag — or the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag — is specifically protected under the law.
Other questions, such as if a flag in support of a labor group would be allowed, are unanswered in the new law. Opponents of the bill, which included ACLU Montana and the Montana Gender Alliance, pointed to some of the questions the bill left open.
“It’s broad and contradictory, which means that certain beliefs are able to be promoted over others,” said Henry Seaton, an ACLU lobbyist who testified against the bill. “It eliminates the ability for people to show support for particular, marginalized communities.”
Other states, including Idaho and Utah, have passed similar legislation. Some cities in those states have pushed back, with Salt Lake City adopting three new city flags to circumvent the law: One in support of the city’s Black and African American residents, a trans flag rights and a Pride flag.
Classrooms were also a target, something Mitchell had on his mind during the hearings for HB 819. He said that teachers were acting as “state officials” in the classroom and pointed to his experience.
“I know when I went to school in 2018 they had Black Lives Matter flags,” Mitchell testified to the Senate State Administration Committee on April 2. “I don’t think that’s something that should be something that should be pushed in a school. There were some teachers that had pride flags.”
While Mitchell says court cases back up the state’s ability to regulate speech in public buildings, students, at least, don’t lose their rights at the schoolhouse gate, which the U.S. Supreme Court found in Tinker vs. Des Moines.
The bill says it does “not infringe on private speech or individual expression, as they apply solely to government-controlled displays, ensuring personal freedoms remain intact while maintaining a neutral public environment.”
It’s unclear how this law will be enacted in schools. Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Micah Hill said his district will follow the law. In an email, he said no flags have been taken down.
He added he assumed “that if we’re out of compliance, we would request that any flag as defined by the new law be taken down.”
The state’s public universities and colleges could also be impacted by the law, though they’re not specifically mentioned in the legislation. Montana State University school officials referred questions on the law to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.
In Montana, the state Constitution gives the Board of Regents the authority to supervise the Montana University System, but the Commissioner’s Office did not respond to a question Tuesday seeking comment on the legislation.
Flags have been a topic of conversation in Bozeman before. In 2021, an MSU student living in university housing displayed a Black Lives Matter flag in plain view outside of a window. The student was told to take it down because it was a “fire hazard” and briefly did, before putting it back up.
It’s likely not to impact the University of Montana, UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz said, who added they’d been in contact with the Commissioner’s Office about the new law. The flags UM flies are already on the list outlined in the new law. He said the university does not plan to regulate flags in offices or in dorm rooms.
“That’s just an area of personal privacy,” Kuntz said. “As the law is passed right now, it just doesn’t have a large impact on the campus.”
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