High school teacher allegedly tells class Confederate flag means 'you intend to marry your sister'

(Meredith) -- A Georgia high school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly posting a message in her classroom saying the Confederate flag is a symbol of someone’s intention to “marry your sister.”

A student at Hephzibah High School in Augusta, Georgia offended by the controversial message told her mother about it, WDRW-TV reported. The student said her teacher put up a picture of the Confederate flag on the classroom’s board with text which read “A sticker you put on the back of your pickup truck to announce that you intend to marry your sister. Think of it like a white trash ‘Save the Date’ card.”

The student took a photo to show her mother, who then posted it to Facebook and drew the concern of fellow parents of students and community members.

The mother told WDRW-TV that the biggest problem wasn’t with the picture, but the related message.

“Why was that used?” she told WDRW-TV. “With it being such a rough area, why would you put that out there to a class discussion that could have turned very ugly?”

The Richmond County School System, of which Hephzibah High is a part, released a statement, saying it is “committed to creating a diverse, equitable learning environment for all students” and “The language used in the example was unnaceptable and has no place in our classrooms.”

WDRW-TV said the teacher has been put on administrative leave and was not available for comment.