Teacher awaiting green flag
New assignment in Jeffco still up in air following banner flap
Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 28, 2006 at midnight
A Jefferson County middle school teacher who was placed on paid leave for hanging foreign flags in his geography classroom will not return to work today.
Eric Hamlin, who taught seventh grade at Carmody Middle School, was suspended with pay Wednesday after he refused to take down three foreign flags that were hung in his classroom.
He has since asked to be reassigned to another position in the district, though a decision has not yet been made about where he will go next.
Ultimately, Jefferson County school officials decided the flags in Hamlin's case were covered by the educational exception to a state law barring the display of foreign flags in public buildings.
Carmody's principal, John Schalk, said he believed the flags were in violation of the law, which was amended in 2002 to add the exception covering educational displays.
A middle school in Littleton decided to take down several foreign flags hanging in the gym because the principal there feared the school was violating the law.
"The unfortunate thing is that I thought this might start happening" at other schools, Hamlin said. "I'm sure administrators are looking through their teachers' classrooms or their schools."
Colorado law allows foreign flags in public buildings as part of a temporary display for educational purposes, provided they are not permanently affixed to the building.
Hamlin plans to talk with the American Civil Liberties Union to find out what it can recommend to get the statute amended or repealed.
Displaying foreign flags is beneficial to students, Hamlin said.
"A lot of flags have been taken down across the state (because of this) and that is really sad," Hamlin said.
prietob@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5219
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