10/03/2026
The Tullahoma City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on October 21, 2025, to bar Pride flags and nearly all other displays from its buildings, restricting classrooms and campuses to only the American and Tennessee state flags unless a display is tied directly to curriculum or a school-sanctioned program.
The policy, adopted as Board Policy 4.400, followed weeks of controversy after a Tullahoma High School teacher who had been criticized for comments about the ass*ssination of Charlie Kirk was found to have a Pride flag visible in her classroom. Former Tullahoma Alderman Daniel Berry started a petition backing the restriction that gathered nearly 700 signatures, arguing schools should stay neutral. “Every child, regardless of their background or belief, deserves to walk into a classroom that’s dedicated to learning and not advocacy,” Berry said, adding, “I believe the American and Tennessee flag represents every single student.”
The board meeting drew an extended public comment period with speakers on both sides. Meadow Frallen, who identified herself as a Tullahoma graduate and transgender woman, told the board that a Pride flag sends a message that “we are welcome to exist here, that at least one person in the room doesn’t think we deserve to be excluded.” Mary Beth Smith, a youth and family minister at Trinity Lutheran Church, told local reporters that the flag simply communicates safety to the roughly 100 LGBTQ+ students at Tullahoma High School.
Despite the objections, the board approved the measure unanimously, making Tullahoma the third Tennessee school system to adopt such a policy. A similar statewide restriction considered by the Tennessee General Assembly failed to clear the state Senate the previous year.