Students suspended for wearing Confederate flag

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) — About 20 students at a Virginia high school received a one-day suspension for wearing clothing displaying the Confederate flag.

Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Brenda Drake says the clothing violated Christiansburg High School’s dress code.

Drake tells WSLS-TV that the students refused to comply with the dress code after they arrived at the school Thursday. They were given one-day in-school suspensions.

But she says a majority of the students didn’t follow in-school suspension rules and were given out of-school suspensions.

Confederate symbols have come under increased public scrutiny since the June 17 massacre of nine black worshippers at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. The man charged had been photographed holding the Confederate battle flag.