The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board has implemented a new flag protocol.
Schools wishing to display special interest flags will now require the approval of the Director of Education.
If approved, special interest flags will only be allowed to be displayed inside schools.
The Canadian flag will now be the only flag permitted to be flown on flagpoles located outside of schools.
Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board Chair Barbara Holland says the new flag protocol is designed to make all students feel included.
She says students will always be included under the Canadian flag.
"We feel very comfortable saying that in front of every one of our schools the Canadian flag will hang proudly because that is the one flag that unifies us all, that signals that you are safe and that you are welcome," says Holland. "We are all about providing safe places for our kids."
Holland says the school board made their decision based on the information provided by community members.
"You are going to get opinions from everywhere and we love that because then we can see what fits and what does not fit," says Holland. "So we chose a midline balanced approach so that everybody in our community will feel safe and included when they come through our doors."
The Flag of Ontario and the school board's flag will be displayed inside all schools as part of provincial guidelines.