WILMINGTON, Del. — The state Board of Education (BOE) ruled last week that American flag decals are allowed to be displayed on school buses.

The Department of Education’s (DOE) regulations were revised to state that a U.S. flag decal or plate (with no other wording or artwork) measuring 6 inches by 12 inches or smaller may be displayed on the right-side plate location on the rear of school buses.

The move to reverse the prohibition of patriotic decor on school buses stemmed from an incident last year. According to The News Journal, Todd McCabe, a bus contractor who drives for the Indian River School District, was told during an inspection that a flag sticker on his bus was illegal and he would have to remove it in order for the bus to pass inspection.

Calls about the incident from other bus contractors and residents who were angry that the flag was not allowed to be displayed prompted department officials to propose changing the rule and to recommend that the BOE adopt the change.

McCabe also received support from Lt. Gov. John Carney, who urged state officials to come up with a provision to allow a patriotic sticker while maintaining a professional appearance on buses.

A spokesman for the DOE told The News-Journal that the change must be advertised in the state’s register of regulations and will most likely take effect on March 11.