American Flag Display Protection Act

American Flag Display Protection Act - Prohibits an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education from receiving federal funds by grant or contract if the school has a policy or practice preventing students from respectfully displaying or wearing a representation of the U.S. flag in a manner at least equal in quality and scope to their right to respectfully display or wear any other representation.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5255 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5255

    To prohibit a school from receiving Federal funds if the school 
prevents a student from displaying or wearing in a respectful manner a 
            representation of the flag of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 2, 2006

 Mr. Jones of North Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit a school from receiving Federal funds if the school 
prevents a student from displaying or wearing in a respectful manner a 
            representation of the flag of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Flag Display Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The most important symbol of any Nation is the national 
        flag. 
            (2) Since ancient times, flags or banners have served to 
        identify and unify groups of people, especially in times of 
        war. 
            (3) On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress passed the 
        following resolution: ``Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen 
        United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white; that 
        the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, 
        representing a new constellation.''.
            (4) Today, the American flag has 13 horizontal stripes, 7 
        red and 6 white. These stripes represent the 13 original 
        States. The flag still has its field of blue, which represents 
        the Union and today contains 50 stars, one for each State.
            (5) The United Sates Code specifies a Pledge of Allegiance 
        to the Flag, and states that the flag should be displayed on 
        all days.
            (6) President Theodore Roosevelt said, ``There can be no 
        divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, 
        but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room 
        for but one flag, the American flag.''
            (7) Certain public school officials have attempted to ban 
        students' display of the flag of the United States.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RECEIPT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    No funds from any Federal source may be provided by contract or by 
grant to an elementary school, secondary school, or institution of 
higher education (including any subelement of such school or 
institution) if the school or institution (or subelement) has a policy 
or practice (regardless of when implemented) that either prohibits, or 
in effect prevents, the right of a student to display or wear, in a 
respectful manner, a representation of the flag of the United States in 
a manner that is at least equal in quality and scope to the right of a 
student to display or wear, in a respectful manner, any other 
representation.
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