Victory for Student Speech

Earlier this month, a high school student requested our assistance in resolving a dispute with school officials as to whether he could wear a t-shirt bearing a pro-life message to school.  The student wore a t-shirt which read on the front, Abortion is Mean, while the back displayed two statements: A person is a person no matter how small ~Dr. Seuss and Do you not know that you are created in the image of God? The back also contained a web address: www.WasDarwinRight.org.  The student had worn this t-shirt to school twice already without incident or being asked to remove his shirt.

In early November, while at school, the Assistant Principal called the student down to the office at the beginning of second period and instructed him to remove the shirt because it could incite violence (emphasis added).  The student asked about his First Amendment rights but was told that the First Amendment was not the issue. After a brief discussion, the student complied and removed his shirt.  The next day, the students father called to discuss the matter with the Assistant Principal, who refused to change his position, restating that the shirt could cause violence by another student punching the student in the face should they disagree with his viewpoint.  The father asked if there had been a history of disruption stemming from similar messages, and the Assistant Principal responded that there had not. 

We sent a demand letter to the schools attorney.  The schools attorney responded by agreeing with our position on the law.  The attorney sent a copy of our letter, together with his legal memorandum to school officials, instructing them to permit the student to wear his shirt absent an actual disturbance under Tinker and its progeny.  We were pleased that the school quickly agreed that our clients First Amendment rights should be protected; and our client was very pleased with the outcome.