Catholic School Expels Entire Family After Patriotic Speech

(Dreamstime)

A student’s pro-America speech was allegedly too patriotic for a private catholic school in California, the New York Post reported.

In May, Jimmy Heyward, 13, was set to give his campaign speech for commissioner of patriotism and school spirit at Saint Bonaventure Catholic School in Huntington Beach until principal Mary Flock determined it wasn’t aligned with school values.

Instead, she made him sit and watch other speeches, which Jimmy told local news was “humiliating.”

Jimmy posted a full video online in which he delivered an “America first” speech with obvious references to former President Donald Trump and his oft-cited campaign slogan.

“Sadly, some people take citizenship for granted. Whether it is disrespecting the people who protect us or eating nachos during the national anthem at a sporting event,” Jimmy said in his speech in front of his home with little sister holding a “Make SBS (St. Bonaventure School) Great Again” sign.

“I will make spirit great again. I will make SBS great again,” Jimmy concluded in his speech.

Jimmy’s mother, Hattie Ruggles, said he was told to remove “all parts about patriotism” or he wouldn’t be allowed to deliver it before the school assembly.

“I didn’t remove the patriotic part of the speech; that’s the most important part. I’m not removing it,” Heyward told KTTV-TV.

It wasn’t until school had ended that the Heyward family was notified that the school decided to “terminate your family’s enrollment from St. Bonaventure,” leaving Ruggles to look for a new school for Jimmy and his two younger sisters.

The school responded to media inquiries by saying that “St. Bonaventure Catholic School remains committed to the principles outlined in our Christian Code of Conduct and Parent Handbook. To that end, we expect all parents and students to uphold these standards, which are crucial to developing a respectful and supportive school community for all.”

The school denied Ruggles’ accusation and said Jimmy’s speech was banned because it did not receive prior administrative approval, a claim that Ruggles disputes.

“Seeing how they just kind of wrote us off and thrown the girls in with it as well, I don’t think that’s a good environment to be sending my children to,” said Ruggles. “We’ve just told the truth from day one, Jimmy’s truth. And that’s it. We’re not smearing anything.”