Student’s suit prompts Pennsylvania district to consider revising dress code and anti-bullying policies
Pennsylvania’s Patriot-News reports the West Shore School Board (WSSB) was considering changes to four district policies, including two that were challenged in a lawsuit in the fall. The suit was brought by the parent of a middle school student who was told to turn an anti-abortion T-shirt inside out because school officials thought it might offend other students. The policy revisions are the quid pro quo for dropping the suit.
The district is proposing a change to its dress and grooming policy that would ban clothing with "obscene pictures, gestures or words" rather than those deemed "inappropriate." Changes to the district's student expression policy would ban anything that promotes illegal drug use, that is lewd or offensive, or that disrupts schoolwork, classes or activities. Other changes would strengthen the district's definition of harassment by adding that it "does not mean merely offensive expression or discourtesy" and add more specific bans on the ways in which a student could be harassed or intimidated by district employees or other students.
Amendments to the district's anti-bullying policy would toughen the language that defines bullying, in part, as conduct that creates an intimidating or hostile environment "of such pervasiveness and severity that it materially and adversely alters a student's educational environment."
Source: Patriot-News, 1/21/10, By Kari Andren
[Editor’s Note: In an update to the story, the Patriot-News reported that WSSB had indeed voted to revise the four policies. The district also added specific bans on the ways in which a student could be harassed by employees or students. This Pennsylvania school board’s policy change reflects the efforts of school boards nationally to balance students’ First Amendment expression rights against the school district’s interest in maintaining safety, decorum, and discipline. For a summary of a recent law suit in Georgia over students’ right to wear t-shirts saying “Islam is of the Devil,” and more links to similar lawsuits and court decisions, please follow the link below.]
Source: Patriot-News, 1/21/10, By Allison Dougherty and Kari Andren
NSBA School Law pages on t-shirt ban