Teens in US T-Shirts Sent Home on Cinco de Mayo

(May 6) -- Students take note: Wearing the Stars and Stripes on Cinco de Mayo could get you kicked out of school for the day.

At least that's what happened Wednesday to five sophomore boys at Live Oak High School in Santa Clara, Calif. School administrators deemed their conspicuous American flag apparel "incendiary" and likely to provoke fights on a day when many other students were permitted to don the red, white and green designs of the Mexican flag in celebration of that country's heritage.

"They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," NBC Bay Area quoted Dominic Maciel, one of the students sent home.

According to the South Valley Newspapers, the incident occurred at 10:10 a.m., when Maciel and his friends Matt Dariano, Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho and Clayton Howard -- all of them decked in various articles of clothing with U.S. flag designs -- were seated at a table outside the school on their lunch break.

Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez approached the group and asked them to follow him to the principal's office, where they were told to turn their T-shirts inside-out "or be sent home," to avoid any confrontation with the numerous students displaying Mexican colors.

"There was a lot of drama going on today," one student uninvolved in the confrontation told South Valley Newspapers.

Wearing Mexican flag colors is a popular custom on Cinco de Mayo, a holiday originally commemorating a May 5, 1862, Mexican military victory over occupying French forces that has expanded over the years into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. About a quarter of the population of Santa Clara County, where Live Oak is located, is Hispanic or Latino, and Maciel himself is part Hispanic.

The boys have not publicly admitted to wearing American flag colors for any specific reason, but they said others were doing the same and did not receive the same scrutiny. Still, they decided they would rather be sent home, as they thought turning the American flag around would be "disrespectful." Many of them called their parents, some of whom were outraged by the school's position.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Maciel's mother, Julie Fagerstrom, told NBC Bay Area. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."

Later in the day, the school district issued a statement criticizing the Live Oak administrators' handling of the situation: "In an attempt to foster a spirit of cultural awareness and maintain a safe and supportive school environment, the Live Oak High School administration took certain actions earlier today. The district does not concur with the Live Oak High School administration's interpretation of either board or district policy related to these actions."

A secretary to the school superintendent told AOL News that district officials are reviewing the matter and plan to release another statement concerning their next course of action later today. Update 4:24 p.m. Superintendent Wesley Smith released the following statement:

The Morgan Hill Unified School District does not prohibit nor do we discourage wearing patriotic clothing. The incident on May 5 at Live Oak High School is extremely unfortunate. While campus safety is our primary concern and administrators made decisions yesterday in an attempt to ensure campus safety, students should not, and will not, be disciplined for wearing patriotic clothing. This matter is under investigation and appropriate action will be taken.

"We're taking all the press calls as they pour in," the secretary added, "We're receiving public comments from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and at the same time, we're just trying to keep our kids calm and safe."

But as Fox News points out, California Education Code 48950 "prohibits schools from enforcing a rule subjecting a high school student to disciplinary sanctions solely on the basis of conduct that, when engaged in outside of campus, is protected by the First Amendment."

In contrast, Live Oak's dress code policy states that "the school has the right to request that any student dressing inappropriately for school will change into other clothes, be sent home to change, and/or be subject to disciplinary action."