The ‘Outnumbered’ panelists discuss controversy in Washington State, where residents are pushing back after the city allowed the POW flag to fly over city hall but doesn’t allow the Pride flag.

The University of Chicago (UC) Laboratory Schools, an institution associated with the university, will no longer be flying an LGBTQ pride flag outside its courtyard after university administrators determined it would violate institutional neutrality.

The news was first reported by U-High Midway, the UC Laboratory High School student newspaper, ahead of Pride Month with a new statement from Interim Director Ethan Bueno de Mesquita explaining the decision on Monday.

"I think the idea of a student organization saying ‘We should fly the pride flag for Pride Month’ in some way is student speech and should be totally acceptable," Bueno de Mesquita said. "I think the university saying that an observer who sees something flying from a flagpole and understands that to be a statement of the institution is a reasonable interpretation of how flagpoles operate, and so that doesn’t strike me as an unreasonable rule."

OHIO TEACHER SUES HIGH SCHOOL FOR DEMANDING HE REMOVE LGBT POSTER INSIDE CLASSROOM

The University of Chicago (UC) Laboratory Schools chose not to fly the LGBTQ pride flag for the first time since 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

He added, "To be clear, the full membership of LGBTQ+ people in the Lab community is not a contested issue. It is a core value."

The decision to remove the flag, which has flown in the same spot since 2022, came after administrators reviewed whether the LGBTQ pride flag aligned with the University of Chicago's Kalven Committee report on neutrality.

"There is no mechanism by which it can reach a collective position without inhibiting that full freedom of dissent on which it thrives. It cannot insist that all of its members favor a given view of social policy; if it takes collective action, therefore, it does so at the price of censuring any minority who do not agree with the view adopted. In brief, it is a community which cannot resort to majority vote to reach positions on public issues," the report read.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROFESSOR CURSES OUT EMPLOYER UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, SAYS SHE TEACHES TO BUILD POWER

Administartors found that the LGBTQ pride flag was not in alignment with the University of Chicago's Kalven Committee report on neutrality. (Getty Images)

It continued, "The neutrality of the university as an institution arises then not from a lack of courage nor out of indifference and insensitivity. It arises out of respect for free inquiry and the obligation to cherish a diversity of viewpoints."

Administrators also believed that the LGBTQ pride flag violated UC Laboratory Schools' new policy on neutrality, which was established last month.

"The following Standards govern how contested issues are engaged in school environments. They are unified by a single overarching principle: educators do not use their adult authority to steer students toward or away from particular conclusions on contested issues, explicitly or implicitly," the guidelines read.

CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOL FACES OUTCRY AFTER AXING ARABIC PROGRAM

The University of Chicago's American Association of University Professors chapter disagreed with the decision to remove the pride flag. (iStock)

The University of Chicago's American Association of University Professors chapter criticized the decision in an X post on Monday.

"You see the display of even basic symbols expressing the dignity of our students would be an unacceptable political stance and violation of neutrality. It has nothing to do with the national environment," the organization wrote.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to UC Laboratory Schools and the University of Chicago's American Association of University Professors chapter for comment.

The University of Chicago released a statement to Fox News Digital saying, "As reflected in a message this week to the Lab community, the University of Chicago has a longstanding practice that only the American flag is flown from University flagpoles. This does not indicate a change in Lab’s recognition of Pride Month. To be clear, the full membership of LBGTQ+ people in the Lab community is a core value."

The article was updated to include a statement from the university. 

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.

Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.

By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News 
        Privacy Policy
       and 
        Terms of Use
      , and
      agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can
      opt-out at any time.

Subscribed

You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!