Paper Number: FY 2005-01
July 2004
Technical Assistance Paper
Carey Baker Freedom Flag Act
BACKGROUND
Current Florida law Section 1000.06, Florida Statutes (Display of flags.--), requires every public
K-20 educational institution in the state to display both the United States and the Florida flag
daily when weather permits, except when the institution is closed for vacation; on every district
school board building or grounds; and on one building or suitable flagstaff on the grounds of
each postsecondary educational institution. When two or more buildings are adjacent to each
other, one flag may be displayed for the entire group of buildings. Section 256.032, Florida
Statutes (Display of state flag at public schools.--), also requires that the state flag be displayed
at each elementary and secondary public school.
Section 1003.42(d), Florida Statutes (Required instruction.--), requires each district school board
to provide prescribed courses of study, including flag education and proper flag display and flag
salute. Section 1003.44, Florida Statutes (Patriotic programs; rules.--), provides that each
district school board may adopt in all of the schools of the district rules to require programs of a
patriotic nature to encourage greater respect for the government of the United States and its
national anthem and flag, subject always to other existing pertinent laws of the United States or
of Florida.
LEGISLATION
The 2004 Legislature passed House Bill 1757, known as the Carey Baker Freedom Flag Act, to
amend Section 1000.06, Florida Statutes, to require that each public K-20 educational institution
that is provided or authorized by the Constitution and laws of Florida must display the American
flag in each classroom on a daily basis. The flag must be made in the United States, must be at
least two feet by three feet, and must be properly displayed in accordance with Title 4, United
States Code. A flag must be displayed in each classroom no later than August 1, 2005.
Each institution must acquire the necessary number of flags to implement this provision. The
principal, director, or president of each institution is responsible for trying to acquire the flags
through donations or fundraising for one year prior to securing other funding sources or
allocating funds for the purchase of flags. The president of each state university and community
college must present to the governing board of the institution the results of donations and
fundraising activities relating to the acquisition of flags prior to requesting the governing board to
approve a funding source for purchasing the flags.
REFER QUESTIONS TO:
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPERS (TAPs) are produced periodically by the
Bureau of School Improvement to present discussion of current topics. The
TAPs may be used for inservice sessions, technical assistance visits, parent
Mary Jo Butler
organization meetings, or interdisciplinary discussion groups. Topics are
maryjo.butler@fldoe.org
identified by state steering committees, district personnel, and individuals, or
(850) 245-0479
from program compliance monitoring.
Jim Horne, Commissioner
BUREAU OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
325 WEST GAINES STREET, ROOM 444
TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400
IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES
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The bill requires each public K-20 educational institution provided or authorized by the
Constitution and laws of Florida to daily display the American flag in every classroom.
Classrooms will be defined as rooms designated by the institution as instructional space in
which teachers are assigned students. Although the bill specifies the minimum size of the flag
(at least two feet by three feet), the bill does not provide requirements regarding how the flag
must be displayed, such as on the wall or a flagpole, or the quality and materials of the flag.
Flags must be displayed in accordance with Title 4, United States Code.
Each educational institution is responsible for acquiring the necessary number of flags to
implement the provisions of this bill. The principal, director, or president of the institution must
try to acquire the flags through donations or fundraising for one year prior to securing other
funding sources or allocating funds for the purchase of flags. The president of each state
university and community college must present the results of donations and fundraising efforts
relating to acquiring the necessary number of flags prior to requesting the governing board to
approve a funding source for the purchase of flags. Many organizations have indicated an
interest in partnering with schools and postsecondary institutions in this effort.
Presidents of the state universities and community colleges are encouraged to begin fundraising
efforts as soon as possible in order to be able to present results to the governing boards within
a year and meet the requirement that a flag must be displayed in each classroom no later than
August 1, 2005.
Title 4 United States Code 4, Chapter 1, Sections 1-10 states that:
Section 1. Flag; stripes and stars on
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the
union of the flag shall be forty-eight stars, white in a blue field.
Section 2. Same; additional stars
On the admission of a new state into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag;
and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such
admission.
Section 3. Use of flag for advertising purposes; mutilation of flag
Any person who, within the District of Columbia, in any manner, for exhibition or display, shall
place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, or any
advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of
America; or shall expose or cause to be exposed to public view any such flag, standard, colors,
or ensign upon which shall have been printed, painted, or otherwise placed, or to which shall be
attached, appended, affixed, or annexed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, or drawing, or
any advertisement of any nature; or who, within the District of Columbia, shall manufacture, sell,
expose for sale, or to public view, or give away or have in possession for sale, or to be given
away or for use for any purpose, any article or substance being an article of merchandise, or a
receptacle for merchandise or article or thing for carrying or transporting merchandise, upon
which shall have been printed, painted, attached, or otherwise placed a representation of any
such flag, standard, colors, or ensign, to advertise, call attention to, decorate, mark, or
distinguish the article or substance on which so placed shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not
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more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court. The words ''flag, standard, colors, or
ensign'', as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or
representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented
on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or
ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which
shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any
part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may
believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of
America.
Section 4. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: ''I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of
America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.'' should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right
hand over the heart. When not in uniform, men should remove any non-religious headdress with
their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in
uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.
Section 5. Display and use of flag by civilians; codification of rules and customs;
definition
The following codification of existing rules and customs pertaining to the display and use of the
flag of the United States of America is established for the use of such civilians or civilian groups
or organizations as may not be required to conform with regulations promulgated by one or
more executive departments of the Government of the United States. The flag of the United
States for the purpose of this chapter shall be defined according to sections 1 and 2 of this title
and Executive Order 10834 issued pursuant thereto.
Section 6. Time and occasions for display
(a)
It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and
on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may
be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.
(b)
The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
(c)
The flag should not be displayed on days when t
he weather is inclement, except when
an all weather flag is displayed.
(d)
The flag should be displayed on all days, especially on New Year's Day, January 1;
Inauguration Day, January 20; Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, third Monday in January;
Lincoln's Birthday, February 12; Washington's Birthday, third Monday in February; Easter
Sunday (variable); Mother's Day, second Sunday in May; Armed Forces Day, third Saturday
in May; Memorial Day (half-staff until noon), the last Monday in May; Flag Day, June 14;
Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, first Monday in September; Constitution Day,
September 17; Columbus Day, second Monday in October; Navy Day, October 27; Veterans
Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November; Christmas Day,
December 25; and such other days as may be proclaimed by the President of the United
States; the birthdays of States (date of admission); and on State holidays.
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(e)
The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main administration building of every
public institution.
(f)
The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on election days.
(g)
The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every schoolhouse.
Section 7. Position and manner of display
The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag or flags, should be either on the
marching right; that is, the flag's own right, or, if there is a line of other flags, in front of the
center of that line.
(a)
The flag should not be displayed on a float in a parade except from a staff, or as
provided in subsection (i) of this section.
(b)
The flag should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle or of a
railroad train or a boat. When the flag is displayed on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed
firmly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.
(c)
No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of
the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval
chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church
services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United Nations
or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior
prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the
United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section
shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag
of the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other national flags
in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the
headquarters of the United Nations.
(d)
The flag of the United States of America, when it is displayed with another flag against a
wall from crossed staffs, should be on the right, the flag's own right, and its staff should be in
front of the staff of the other flag.
(e)
The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point
of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are
grouped and displayed from staffs.
(f)
When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same
halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the
flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and
lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or
to the United States flag's right.
(g)
When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate
staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size. International
usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of
peace.
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(h)
When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at
an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be
placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half-staff. When the flag is suspended
over a sidewalk from a rope extending from a house to a pole at the edge of the sidewalk,
the flag should be hoisted out, union first, from the building.
(i)
When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be
uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a
window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the
left of the observer in the street.
(j)
When the flag is displayed over the middle of the street, it should be suspended
vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and
south street.
(k)
When used on a speaker's platform, the flag, if displayed flat, should be displayed above
and behind the speaker. When displayed from a staff in a church or public auditorium, the
flag of the United States of America should hold the position of superior prominence, in
advance of the audience, and in the position of honor at the clergyman's or speaker's right
as he faces the audience. Any other flag so displayed should be placed on the left of the
clergyman or speaker or to the right of the audience.
(l)
The flag should form a distinctive feature of the ceremony of unveiling a statue or
monument, but it should never be used as the covering for the statue or monument.
(m)
The flag, when flown at half-staff, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and
then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it
is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon
only, then raised to the top of the staff. By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at
half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the
Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory. In the
event of the death of other officials or foreign dignitaries, the flag is to be displayed at half-
staff according to Presidential instructions or orders, or in accordance with recognized
customs or practices not inconsistent with law. In the event of the death of a present or
former official of the government of any State, territory, or possession of the United States,
the Governor of that State, territory, or possession may proclaim that the National flag shall
be flown at half-staff. The flag shall be flown at half-staff 30 days from the death of the
President or a former President; 10 days from the day of death of the Vice President, the
Chief Justice or a retired Chief Justice of the United States, or the Speaker of the House of
Representatives; from the day of death until interment of an Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court, a Secretary of an executive or military department, a former Vice President,
or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession; and on the day of death and the
following day for a Member of Congress. The flag shall be flown at half-staff on Peace
Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day. As used in this
subsection -
(1)
the term ''half-staff'' means the position of the flag when it is one-half the distance
between the top and bottom of the staff;
(2)
the term ''executive or military department'' means any agency listed under sections
101 and 102 of title 5, United States Code; and
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(3)
the term ''Member of Congress'' means a Senator, a Representative, a Delegate, or
the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
(n)
When the flag is used to cover a casket, it should be so placed that the union is at the
head and over the left shoulder. The flag should not be lowered into the grave or allowed to
touch the ground.
(o)
When the flag is suspended across a corridor or lobby in a building with only one main
entrance, it should be suspended vertically with the union of the flag to the observer's left
upon entering. If the building has more than one main entrance, the flag should be
suspended vertically near the center of the corridor or lobby with the union to the north,
when entrances are to the east and west or to the east when entrances are to the north and
south. If there are entrances in more than two directions, the union should be to the east.
Section 8. Respect for flag
No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not
be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or
institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a)
The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire
distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
(b)
The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or
merchandise.
(c)
The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.
(d)
The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never
be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue,
white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red
below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and
for decoration in general.
(e)
The flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to
permit it to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way.
(f)
The flag should never be used as a covering for a ceiling.
(g)
The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any
mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
(h)
The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or
delivering anything.
(i)
The flag should never be used for advertising
purposes in any manner whatsoever. It
should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like,
printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for
temporary use and discard. Advertising signs should not be fastened to a staff or halyard
from which the flag is flown.
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(j)
No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag
patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members
of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living
thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the
heart.
(k)
The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display,
should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.
Section 9. Conduct during hoisting, lowering or passing of flag
During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing in a parade or in
review, all persons present except those in uniform should face the flag and stand at attention
with the right hand over the heart. Those present in uniform should render the military salute.
When not in uniform, men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the
left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Aliens should stand at attention. The salute to the
flag in a moving column should be rendered at the moment the flag passes.
Section 10. Modification of rules and customs by President
Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of America, set forth
herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed, or additional rules with respect thereto may be
prescribed, by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he
deems it to be appropriate or desirable; and any such alteration or additional rule shall be set
forth in a proclamation.
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