Judge sides with Poway school officials who pulled student in anti-gay T-shirt

[deadparrot]

SAN DIEGO – A federal judge Wednesday ruled in favor of Poway school officials who pulled a student from class for wearing a T-shirt he says paraphrased the Bible that “homosexuality is shameful.”

U.S. District Judge John A. Houston ruled that the case became moot when Tyler Chase Harper graduated from Poway High School last year, but agreed to consider the issues as they affected his sister, Kelsie Harper, still a student.

Houston then relied on an earlier appeals court decision in the case to find that the school's actions didn't infringe on students' rights of free speech, free exercise of religion, nor were they hostile to a particular religious viewpoint.

He cited that decision, which found that schools have a responsibility to stop harassment on the basis of sexual orientation because it “adversely affects the rights of public high school students.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070124-1544-bn24slogan.html

[Kerrytravelers]

1. Good.

I realize that, in turn, students could be stopped from wearing anti-Bush shirts. But perhaps that is the price we have to pay to keep this homophobic hatred out of the school as much as possible. If I had a gay child in this asshole's class, I'd feel horrible knowing my child was forced into a classroom and had to deal with this asshole.

Perhaps there is a repercussion I am missing here. Feel free to poke holes in my statement! :hi:

[Deja Q]

3. See post #2, there should be a blanket rule.

It's not fair, but then these are children - when they're 18 they can wear what they want and say what they want. With luck they'll understand things better by then. (Chances are, they won't.)

[Kerrytravelers]

6. When I was still teaching in the classroom, I'd love a rule like this.

We had a strict dress code that did not allow any print on any clothing- unless it was the school's name.

[Occulus]

7. I've never ever gotten a straight answer on this question

and I really must ask it, given your statement:

What about high school seniors who are 18 years old? Do they then get to throw dress code rules into the trash?

I'm not being hostile, understand.. I'm just curious. As I said, I've often wondered this aloud, and I haven't really gotten an answer.

[Deja Q]

2. Maybe schools should say 'no' to clothing with any slogans on it?

That way there is NO argument.

In cases like this, there IS no segregation into "anti-gay", "anti-group", or "anti-whatever". The core problem is that it detracts from the reason WHY they are there.

Kids are there to learn and be useful in the fields they are best suited to.

Kids do not need to see free corporate advertising. (The 'lemming' philosophy has always eluded me. Kids say 'we have a right to be different, waah waah waah!' and then all look and dress the same and these days they all wear the same styles with the same boring red and white rectangle logo on it... they are so programmed they can't even see the sheer irony of it as they taunt and kick their peers who actually DO look different.)

Kids do not need to see rock group tour shirts with disgusting slogans on them (a "classic" from 1987 had read "Metal up your a**" :eyes: )

Kids do not need to have an ipod to listen to during class.

Kids are not there to incite disruption amongst their peers for their own amusement. Those uncivilized jerks should be kicked out our put in a 'small bus'.

[nealmhughes]

4. I disagree. Let Tyler wear his little teeshirt and then a group of gay youth

give gay bashing a 180 twist.

I like my bigots out in the open, not hiding behind a mask of respectibility.

Either that or ban all teeshirts with writing on them: plain white or nada...except for the school logo.
Evidently schools can do almost anything these days in the name of "discipline." Hairstyles, piercings, what next? tattoos?

Yet they still turn out a meager product, and waste time and money by courting lawsuits. It goes to show why the need for an absolute, constitutional written policy must be in place and enforced for everyone in a school.

[mondo joe]

5. No problem with banning shirts that contribute to harassment of any students.