Student sues school district that called cops when he asked why American flags weren’t in classrooms

Parker Jensen wanted answers about why American flags weren’t being displayed in his school classrooms, but instead he got a police escort and a one-week suspension.

Baltimore County School District officials reportedly called police on March 28 and summarily suspended Jensen after he inquired at the district’s office why the flags weren’t displayed in all classrooms, as required by district and state policy. 

Jensen, a Towson High School senior who plans to join the Marines in August, is now suing the district, which surrounds the city of Baltimore, Maryland, for violating his First Amendment rights. 

His attorney told the media Jensen’s constitutional rights were “absolutely” violated and likened the district’s response to “bullying.” 

“He was summarily suspended without any due process whatsoever, which every student in Baltimore County and Maryland has the right to and they stripped him of that within five seconds,” Sarah Spitalnick said. 

The suspension could prevent Jensen from attending senior prom in May and impact future college applications, WBFF reported. 

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and to vacate the suspension, removing it from his record. 

The district has not commented on the lawsuit but confirmed that as of April 1, all classrooms that lacked American flags now have them. The district is one of the nation’s largest, with about 111,000 students and a $3 billion budget. 

Jensen, who was escorted out of the building after three cop cars showed up, said “Patriotism has always been a big thing of mine.”

The Maryland Republican Party chided the school system for its response. 

“Patriotism from our state’s young people should be celebrated, not met with legal action and First Amendment violations,” it posted on X.