A seventh-grade geography teacher put on paid leave for refusing to remove Chinese, Mexican and United Nations flags from his classroom will return to school tomorrow.
Eric Hamlin, a teacher at Carmody Middle School, will be allowed to keep flags of other nations in his classroom for six weeks at a time, Jeffco Public Schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said today.
Principal John Schalk put Hamlin on administrative leave with pay yesterday for insubordination after the teacher refused to remove the foreign flags.
The district cited a 1971 state law that says “Any person who displays any flag other than the flag of the United States of America or the state of Colorado or any of its subdivisions, agencies or institutions upon any state, county, municipal or other public building or adjacent grounds within this state commits a class 1 petty office.”
But the law makes exception for temporary, instructional or historical displays.
“Our district believes in win-win situations,” Jeffco Superintendent Cindy Stevenson said in a statement. “This will address the district’s concerns regarding compliance with the law and get Mr. Hamlin back into the classroom.”
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
