Lawyer Questions Dolores Schools Hate-Symbol Ban

DOLORES, Colo. (AP) — An attorney is asking Dolores school officials to rescind a ban on swastikas, Confederate flags and other items that they've described as symbols of hate.

Dolores Schools Secondary Principal Brandon Thurston told parents in December that after a student allegedly targeted a staff member with a hate crime in November, Dolores Schools was banning all symbols of hate.

Attorney Mari Newman sent a letter to school officials Wednesday on behalf of about 50 families in which she described the policy as unconstitutional, censorship and broadly overreaching. She says students have been prohibited from protesting the ban, and some school community members feel like they've been subjected to retaliation for questioning it.

Superintendent Scott Cooper was in a meeting Wednesday. He and Thurston didn't immediately return emails seeking comment.

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