Texas high school bans student from wearing John Edwards T-shirt

[rpannier]

DALLAS -- A Waxahachie High School sophomore is at the center of a First Amendment debate after school officials told him he could not wear a T-shirt that supports Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

snip

The school district declined to provide specifics on the case but provided a written statement, which included the following: "The district also values student speech rights. ... Our schools, however, are not unbounded forums for practicing student speech, and our primary focus remains creating and maintaining an environment conducive to learning."

snip

"All polo style (knit) shirts and shirts with colors containing pictures or slogans that are provocative, offensive, sexual or suggestive in nature, vulgar, lewd or obscene are prohibited. Alcohol and tobacco pictures or slogans are also prohibited," according to the school district's dress code policy.

snip

Palmer said his family has the opportunity to appeal the principal's decision and is trying to resolve the issue with the school district.


First off: Judos to his parents for trying to work it out with the school district, rather then have the district spend resources on civil litigation. I hope they can get the district to change their position.

Second, and most important (to me), the dress code...The Edwards shirt violates which part of that code about shirts:
Does the school consider the shirt provocative??? If so, that's a fairly broad definition of provocative (IMO)
Offensive??? And if so, who is it offensive to?
Sexual??? Is the web address secretly a porn site?
Suggestive???
I mean, what?

link:
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=357975&query=&comment_sub=done#comments

[villager]

1. They should come to school with an "Ed Johnwards" shirt...

...the very next day...

[ourbluenation]

2. ugh - these schools always lose these cases in the end. get the hell out of the way of free speech.

he'll sue, he'll win

baby steps, friends.

[Occulus]

6. He needs to send a message and sue for money and not the right to wear the shirt.

That's ALL these conservonuts understand- their bottom line. They lose money, and suddenly, "maybe that wasn't a good idea after all..."

Sue the district for its budget. That should scare them plenty.

[rpannier]

10. And if the district loses and has to pay then what?

Cut a few teachers? Cut out some of the extra-curriculars?
People lose their jobs, some kids lose out on sports and clubs (which will hurt those applying to schools like Stanford).
So, the good that comes out of that would be what?

[griffi94]

3. well it is in waxahachie

the principal probly did it out of concern for his health welfare.
lots o nutbars up there. heavily baptist...you know the ones who think dubya is a godly man.
i love a quote i read in one of molly ivins books, i don't remember whose quote it is tho, but here it is.

"The problem with our Baptists in Texas. Is that we don't hold em under water long enough"

[bluestateguy]

4. Clear violation of Tinker vs. Des Moines (1969)

Some of the dumbest people I have ever met were school administrators.

They need to be sent to a constitutional rights sensitivity training session.

[EVDebs]

5. Put on that Che T-shirt !

The Chestore, for all your revolutionary needs !
http://www.thechestore.com/

[Selatius]

7. The ACLU is going to be all over the case if the parents decide to sue.

They'll take cases like this for free.

[TheMadMonk]

8. He should get a mate to don a pro-Bush shirt and see how long it lasts.

If it goes quickly, at least the "rule" is being enforces consistently. If it lasts then we indeed have a lawsuit.

[rpannier]

9. That's actually a great idea

I applaud your genius.:applause:

And, as I stated earlier, I applaud the parents for their decision to work with the school. School don't have unlimited funds. A protracted and expensice lawsuit could cause the school to have to close one or more extra-curriculars.

[mnhtnbb]

11. Texas Fascist A$$holes. What else is new?

"our primary focus remains creating and maintaining an environment conducive to learning."

And just what are they teaching? Hate, fear, oppression. All those terrific Republican values.

[Perry Logan]

12. If the shirt hadn't had a picture on it, they wouldn't have known it was pro-Edwards.