A California elementary school teacher is facing extreme backlash after posting a TikTok video showing her turning the American flag upside down and displaying an “ABOLISH ICE” sign in her classroom.
Libs of TikTok obtained and shared the video of Bailey Hill Ringer, a first-grade teacher at Audubon Elementary School in San Diego. That post, which went live shortly after 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, already had nearly 2 million views as of Monday morning. Ringer reportedly deleted the video from her TikTok.
Neither the school nor San Diego Unified, the school district, had commented on the situation as of publication. It is unclear whether she could face discipline, especially if the school or district has explicit policies about what kinds of signs, posters, or other artwork are allowed in classrooms.
Libs of TikTok shared the school’s phone number later on Sunday in a post that already had nearly 500,000 views. An Instagram account seemingly belonging to Ringer had been deleted as of Monday morning.
Meet Bailey Hill Ringer, a first grade teacher at Audubon Elementary school in @sdschools.
She turned the American Flag in her classroom upside down and put up an “abolish ICE” sign in her classroom to protest ICE.
Is this acceptable behavior for your teachers @sdschools? pic.twitter.com/j0JFp8RTyY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 1, 2026
Ringer is the latest educator to create self-inflicted controversy amid the nationwide anti-ICE protests. A Minneapolis school teacher went viral last month when she engaged in a heated argument with one of her students about the fatal ICE-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good. The teacher raised her voice at the student and made comments that his classmates interpreted as her insulting his intelligence.
A New York City school proudly shared a video of kindergarten students participating in an anti-ICE protest last Friday. The school’s director, Dr. Sanayi Beckles-Canton, hinted that the children would have participated in protests outside if not for the weather; much of the East Coast is enduring freezing temperatures and snowstorms.
At least two Colorado schools canceled classes last week because they were short-staffed on National Shutdown Day, a movement that called for Americans to forego working, attending school, and spending money on Friday as part of nationwide protests tied to federal immigration policy.
Parents of these students should be very concerned and should remove their children from your schools if you tolerate this.
Homeschool. https://t.co/KlZYwmcJVL
— USA=Liberty (@LibertasWins) February 1, 2026
The various school-related anti-ICE controversies have raised further questions about the state of public education in the United States. A glance at social media regularly shows X accounts, especially among those who lean right-wing, advocating for parents to homeschool their children. According to the Johns Hopkins School of Education, homeschooling increased at an average rate of 4.9% during the 2024–25 academic year, significantly up from roughly 2% before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the 28 states that reported homeschooling statistics for the 2024–25 academic year, 80% reported an increase in homeschooling. South Carolina had the highest percentage, with a 21.5% increase. Six states — Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Tennessee — all reported decreases in homeschooling during that time.
Audubon opened in 1980 and serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
