Alberta is rolling out its flag restrictions in schools across the province. As of Jan. 4, the Alberta and Canadian flags will be the only flags allowed – and will, in fact, be required – to be flown outside schools during the school year. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday that the limitations will “remove politics and ideology” in classrooms. “We want to make sure that our classrooms and our schools are focused on helping our kids learn how to read, write, and prepare for the future and not get embroiled into potentially divisive social or political issues,” Nicolaides said. The rules were originally set to come into effect on Sept. 1, but were delayed amid backlash to proposed changes in the Act to Remove Politics and Ideology from Classrooms. At the time, critics argued restricting flags, like the Pride flag, was unnecessary and could pose a threat to free speech in schools. “Academic rigor and intellectual integrity are already demanded and demonstrated in Alberta schools, any suggestion otherwise is unfair and quite frankly, offensive to the profession,” Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said at the time. While the new flag rules were already set in legislation, Nicolaides said the province needed time to nail down the details. He said he’s met with school divisions and stakeholders to provide clarity. For example, he said, defining what exactly constitutes a flag. “I had a school talk to me specifically about a mural wall that they have, where they have flags of the different nationalities that are represented by their student body, and so that was helpful,” Nicolaides said. “We certainly don’t want to create any restrictions on being able to celebrate diversity in that way.” Flags like the Franco-Albertan flag or sport team flags are allowed to be flown on specific days, while First Nation, Métis, and foreign national flags go up during official visits or celebrations. Schools that would like to display a flag that does not fall under the regulations will need to put a written request into the Ministry of Education and Childcare to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. “It cannot be something that seeks to promote or advocate a social, political, or ideological cause, and there has to be some clear rationale or explanation as to why any particular flag would be necessary,” Nicolaides explained. The province said the legislation does not apply to flags displayed on a person or personal items. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski
