A high school in Springfield, Missouri welcomed back students for the first day of classes on Monday, but just outside the campus, protesters gathered.In fact, two separate protests were held Monday at Kickapoo High School after Principal Bill Powers told teachers to remove any LGBTQ Pride flags from their classrooms before the school year kicked off.The teachers were told the flags violate a school district policy on employee speech and conduct, but that explanation isn’t cutting it for local LGBTQ and ally activists.Related: Florida high school enacts insane new LGBTQ policy and everyone’s thinking the same thingOne of the protests was organized by drag artist Brett Baxley, who graduated from a school in the same district in 2018.“Issues in Springfield Public Schools are really close to my heart. As an existing queer person in SPS, I know how difficult it can be in this area,” Baxley told the Springfield News-Leader.
