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Depends on the school policy. Some schools don't allow -any- tee-shirts with messages or images printed on them. If that's a policy already in place, then wearing the banana shirt would be a violation, and subject to the policy-mandated discipline.
However - if they didn't already have that as part of their dress code policy, then the students not only don't have to take them off, but it would be against the health code to take them off. And - regardless of the "function" of womens' breasts, it would also be sexual harrassment for a principal to require a woman to take off her shirt, no matter what was written on it. If the principal is demanding only that the males take them off, but not the females, then it would still be sexual harrassment - against the males.
Lots of "civil liberties" you can bandy around on this one. If I was the media I'd have a field day.
When kids have to change their shirts for whatever reason, they are typically made to wear their gym shirt, not go bare-chested.
The students are not going to win. Schools are absolutely allowed to include in dress codes restrictions against anything "distracting" in regards to t-shirts etc. The can easily claim and prove to some degree that the tshirts are distracting from the educational process.
Additionally, very few suits regarding dress code "freedom of speech" go forward, because the law favors protecting the learning environment of the larger group over the freedom of expression (not really speech here) of the few.
The students can "win" even if they "lose". The goal of the protest is to have the punishment overturned. All it will take is a large enough and consistent enough effort to do it. At some point the school would be forced to relent as sticking to their guns and draconian punishment will simply not be worth fighting the entire student body. The students automatically lose if there are only a handful of them willing to do it.
If the students aren't willing to do it, then it would be up to the parents who have far more flexibility in what they can do to protest this. I'd love to see a principal telling a room full of parents they need to take off their t-shirts. This is a fight the school can only win if the students and parents are apathetic enough to let them win.
On the topic of the dress code and freedom of speech, there would need to be a specific school policy against it. The Supreme Court has upheld dress code standards as long as they were in place and contained specific language against the offending dress before the incident. If the school has a well written dress code policy, then there isn't much you can do legally, though it certainly has enough merit to force the school to defend it in court, which they certainly don't want to do, even if they would ultimately win. The process of the case is often more damaging than any outcome. FWIW, in the legal sense expression and speech are the same thing and covered by the first amendment. Hence why "offensive" artwork is considered protected speech, just as "Free Banana Man" t-shirts are and someone choosing to wear goth clothes.
Where the students have a VERY good legal standing is bringing actual bananas to school for snacks and lunch. It is impossible for the school to make the argument that bananas being brought to school for food pose a "threat to the learning environment". If the school persists on banning bananas, a lawsuit would be all but assured of victory.
The real issue here is that both sides are digging in their heels hoping the other will break first. The principal is trying to make a statement and needs to be brought back to reality.
Lots of "rights" of students are waived at school. Shoot, some California schools will make you take off a shirt with a picture of an American flag on it.
CA - What a disgrace. Wear a shirt with a flag of any other nation than our own and your right is "sacrosanct" - but don't you dare show pride in our beloved Old Glory!!!
Yay! Brian gets to go back to school. Considering the fact that a student BURNED two students at a different county school and only got 10 days suspension, I don't see how they could have upheld this anyway. Banana man returning to school - The Chalkboard
So...what about my son who got suspended for wearing a shirt that supported him? They'd better not try to make him do the Saturday suspension. Well, frankly, I'm not letting him go anyway. But I guess if they try to put it on his record, we'll have to hire an attorney or something.
I, especially as a football fan, appreciate your brother's feelings. But this is beyond a kid in a costume. It's about the students' rights to wear that particular t-shirt and voice their opinion. (Ever see "Field of Dreams"? Right now I feel like Amy Madigan at the parents meeting in the gym.)
And freedom of speech is a hill I'm most definitely willing to battle for.
Students are told all the time that they can't wear particular clothes. Most schools have included in the dress code policy that you can't wear anything that would distract from the learning environment, and I can see how those shirts worn by so many students could qualify.
I'm not saying I agree with these rules, but schools have them.
The following statement was issued by Superintendent Randy Bridges this afternoon:
"My staff, under my direction, has reviewed the recent actions at Colonial Forge High School relating to the wearing of yellow tee shirts and other activities in support of a student who had been recently disciplined. We have concluded that many of the actions that were taken by the school were inappropriate. We are sorry for any embarrassment or inconvenience incurred by the students who were appropriately exercising their freedom of speech and by the families of those students. This administration and the School Board fully support the First Amendment rights of our students."
My son came home and said the vice principal called him in and told him no suspension and he got his shirt back.
My son came home and said the vice principal called him in and told him no suspension and he got his shirt back.
It should have been the principal that had to retract the suspension and give the shirt back, wasn't that the culprit? That is a great story, thanks for sharing! Power trip cancelled, power to the people.
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