“I packed it away but I don’t know where, and I haven’t found it yet,” she says. In the one-minute video, since deleted from TikTok, Pitzen says she removed the American flag from her classroom during the pandemic because it made her uncomfortable. Vikki Vargas reports for NBC4 News at 5 p.m. The district added that Pitzen is not teaching students while officials continue to investigate. An online video by an OC teacher suggesting her students say the pledge of allegiance to a gay pride flag went viral. “Showing respect for our nation’s flag is an important value that we instill in our students and an expectation of our employees.” A California teacher is being investigated for saying she removed the US flag from her classroom and encouraged students to instead pledge allegiance to a gay pride banner, district officials said.
“We assure you that we take matters like this seriously,” the district said in a statement. The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said it became aware of the video teacher Kristen Pitzen shared from her classroom at Back Bay High School on Friday and has since launched an investigation. A Costa Mesa, California, teacher has been removed from the classroom after posting a widely shared TikTok video about taking down the American flag and telling students they could pledge allegiance to a gay pride flag hanging in the room instead.
