UPI News - Teen Sues to Wear Rosary to Class

by UPI News

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- A Christian not-for-profit organization is suing a New York school district, demanding it allow a teenager to openly wear rosary beads to school.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which is picking up the 13-year-old boy's legal fees, filed the complaint against the Schenectady school district Tuesday in federal district court, saying the Oneida Middle School student's First and 14th Amendment rights were being violated, the Times Union in Albany reported Wednesday.

The teen, Raymond Hosier, was first suspended May 17 for wearing the rosary. School officials said beads are considered a gang-related symbol, the lawsuit said. The youth and his mother said he wears the rosary because his brother had held it as he was dying in the hospital after a bicycle accident in 2005.

School officials said Hosier could wear the rosary under his shirt, but he refused.

The lawsuit said Hosier was still under suspension, the Times Union said. The group says the school district violated the teen's rights to free speech and due process for the protection of life, liberty or property.