WorldNetDaily - Dropped: Ban on 'Gang-Related' Rosary; But Suit Continues After Officials 'Retaliated' Against Student

By Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily

A policy at Oneida Middle School in Schenectady, N.Y., that banned a student's rosary under the category of "gang-related beads" has been dropped, but the civil rights lawsuit filed over the ban is continuing because school officials allegedly retaliated against the student for raising the complaint.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of student Raymond Hosier, the school district has eliminated its discriminatory policy.

"This policy change represents a critical victory for religious freedom as well as our client and all students in the school district," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ. "It's clear that our lawsuit resulted in an important change of school policy. It's our view that this discriminatory policy violated our client's constitutionally protected rights of free speech and free exercise of religion."

However, he said the case couldn't be resolved completely as easily as a policy change, because the issues of liability and damages remain.

The case was brought on behalf of the student and his mother, Chantell, in June when the ACLJ explained Raymond wears the rosary to express his faith in God and honor the memory of a deceased uncle and a brother who died with that very rosary in his hand.

The complaint also asserted that Raymond is not a member of any criminal gang and does not wear his rosary to promote gang membership or violence.

In fact, the complaint said, "R.H. is not a member of any criminal gang. R.H. does not wear his rosary to advocate or promote gang membership or violence. R.H. is not aware of any gangs whose members wear a plastic rosary made of light-colored purple beads and a white crucifix as a gang symbol."

The complaint explained Raymond had been wearing the rosary since September 2009 without causing "any disruption to the school environment." The policy change resolved that part of the case, the ACLJ said, but it is continuing because "the defendants retaliated against Raymond for filing his original lawsuit to secure his constitutional rights."

The amended complaint alleges that a school dean approached Raymond when he returned to school following a court order allowing the rosary and ordered him to detention.

"If you want to play the insubordinate game, we can play, too," the dean said, according to the lawsuit.

School officials also "wrote up" the student for alleged violations more times from May 17, 2010, to June 10, 2010, in the wake of his original complaint, than from the start of the school year in September 2009 to May 17.

"Defendants' retaliation against R.H. is an effort to paint falsely R.H. as a troublemaker and to punish him for, and to deter him from, exercising his right to wear his rosary to school and to file a lawsuit to redress the deprivation of his constitutional rights and to address a matter of public concern," the amended complaint says.

It was U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn who earlier signed an order allowing Raymond to wear the rosary until the issue of the policy could be addressed by the district.

The attorneys cite the school rule, "A student's dress shall not denote, represent or be deemed to be gang related, including but not limited to, bandanas, colors, flags or beads."

The ACLJ said this isn't the first time the Schenectady school system has been sued over a dress code issue. They cited a 2005 case of a 12-year-old girl who had family members serving in Iraq. The girl chose to wear a red, white and blue beaded necklace that was banished by the school.

Her case was settled out of court, officials said.