Posted on 10/13/2009 12:28:37 PM PDT by motoman
A Christian middle-school student is suing his school district after a principal ordered him to remove a T-shirt bearing the message "Abortion is not health care" on the day of President Obama's speech to schoolchildren.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court against the West Shore School District in Lewisberry, Pa., Oct. 5 on behalf of a male, Christian middle-school student identified as E.B.
The boy's parents, identified as the Boyers, said they were concerned about the president's speech and the national health-care debate, including reported funding of abortion within proposed legislation.
"[T]he Boyers, like many others, felt that President Obama was bypassing them and speaking directly to their children without their permission," the complaint states. "… Like many others, the Boyers struggled with whether they should send their children to school on that day. E.B. attended school and decided to voice his religious viewpoint as it relates to the issue of abortion."
The boy wore the T-shirt to his classes at Crossroads Middle School and said he received no complaints until his fifth-period teacher ordered him to go to the principal's office to determine whether the shirt was "appropriate."
E.B. claims he was immediately told to remove his shirt "because it might insult somebody."
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
If you wear an Obama t-shirt, that is offensive to me, and in prior years, subject to anti-American activity scrutiny.
They should ban all slogans on clothing in the classroom. Always disruptive.
“Remove your shirt. It’s disruptive.”
who does this insult?
Courts have ruled its okay for kids to wear anti-Bush shirts
I wonder if he thinks an American flag on a T-shirt is offensive ....
Guess Free Speach only applies to Democraps. What about the insult of tax dollars being used to fund abortions? The kid should have went to the media and accuse the pricipal of being a pervert trying to see him shirtless. Hit him where it hurts.
I take that statement back. It is the Principal’s discretion. The LOCAL school can set a policy.
I do not think any court should review it, all proper authority is to the Principal and School Board. The recourse from a harm is via personal or popular rebuke to those two.
When teacher’s stop spewing their moral relativistic like garbarge and disparaging christian’s in the classroom, then our kids can consider suspending their slogan’s on their clothing in response to this leftist crap agenda.
How is it insulting anyone? It’s merely stating a fact, which the left seems to have lost sight of.
So should all those kids wearing Obama shirts be ordered to remove them too?
I guess teenagers (who are supposedly ‘adult’ enough to choose abortion without parents knowledge) aren’t ‘adult’ enough to decide if they are for or against it.
That is the wrong place to fight. Have to respect the ultimate authority of the Principal in the day to day operation of the school even when it is stupid. It is to the school board to deal with him, not anyone else.
The voters and the people can influence the Board via the vote or popular uproar, the Principal can be influenced via personal pleading within the bounds of the district’s policies.
Failing those remedies the parents can sent the child to a different school — or homeschool.
And, in the Viet Nam era, the Supreme Court okayed shirts with the message “F-— the Draft”.
I wonder what the relationship between the fifth-period teacher and the principal is.
Again and again, these are the this is the type of crap as to why my kid will never be in a public school as a student.
My child and every other child must wear a uniform, don’t get into these sorts of nonsensical situations.
Dress code is dress code and politicians don’t get to make school plans for my kids either.
All the aborted children were offended
You are correct and the ban here is school policy, happened in York, Pa. Amish country.
I wonder: In how many abortions has the fifth-period teacher been involved?
The problem is that the principal made a subjective judgment ( possibly insulting) not one based on the policy. If he had simply said the shirt was not allowed because it violated the policy then you would be right. Since he made a value judgment outside of policy then he's in the wrong.
Up to the School Board to review.
Any principal or teacher who is insulted by a pro-life message is not fit to teach children.
How many of the fellow fifth-graders had an abortion in his classes?
Certainly his classmates who WERE aborted can't voice their support for the shirt.
I find THIS offensive, but would never demand a person take it off. Went to my state fair in Sept. LOTS of obama-love merchandise stands EVERYWHERE. Made my throw up in my mouth a little. But it's still America... for a while.
I think the principal really meant "it might insult a liberal". I bet shirts that insult conservatives are a-ok in that school.
Why did’nt the family sue the principal?Anyone know?Seems to me the kids 1st amendment was violated by the principal
Don’t worry. I’m sure the ACLU is going to rush to his aid! /s
And Al Gore cultists are welcome to their farcical beliefs. Except they try to impose their beliefs and morality on everyone (carbon footprint, going green, carbon offset credits, no filament lightbulbs, low flow toilets, meatless Mondays...).
If you are pro life then you agree with the t shirt, therefore no offense.
If you are pro abortion then it is just discussing a medical procedure to remove an unwanted tissue mass, therefore no offense.
So who could possibly be insulted?
If you are “pro-choice”,
you know what the “procedure” IS,
and don’t want to be reminded of your depravity.
So, just when
would you propose kids get some hands on experience learning to cope with such different perspectives, constructions on reality, opinions . . .
in the real world . . . as real as classrooms get . . .
. . . Oh, I know . . .
just before OThuga’s health care pulls the plug on you for being a useless eater in an old folks home.
brilliant.
Sheesh.
Sorry, but the unfortunate tragedy is that the public schools is where the fight is being lost!!!
This insidious form of indoctrination in our public school systems is producing a generation of kids, many of which have little parental direction at home, who are being led to believe nothing is wrong with regards to abortion, and that it is just a “blob of flesh”.
Kid’s have every right to free speech in the public schools. I’m not worried about the opposing, leftist side of the argument. In the arena of free speech, the correct argument always prevails.
The classroom is a highly structured environment. Slogans and radical dress styles disrupt the experience and help hobble the ability to learn.
Disrupters and sloganeers are quick and pat at getting around dress rules. Gang colors, style of shoes, pins, extra short skirts, extra long legs on short pants — anything can become s disruptive message at times. A Principal has to be given the authority to make judgment calls, withing a broadly, not specifically framed policy.
Ckassrooms are not romantic places, there is no tolerance for dreamy ideals. Let the kids learn, and not be tossed into chaos.
Hooray for the school or district that has kids so self-controlled and mature that no rules or ad-hoc Teacher’s or Principal’s actions against such disruptions are needed, or in which what would be disruptive dress in a more agitated group of kids can be allowed! But do not imagine that the uncommonly high-standard group is the norm. Our popular culture trains and encourages the kids to be disruptive, to be disrespectful.
Fire the principal.
While we’re at it, we might want to look into firing anyone in the public schools who teach without an education...and by this I mean ANYONE with a worthless, comic book degree in “education”.
If you want your child to learn history, you might try a teacher with a degree in that subject. Etc, etc.
Just think of that the next time your school’s basketball coach teaches physics (and global “warming”). Yup, this one exists.
I agree that too many of today’s schools are ruinations — one cure is MORE local authority and an elimination of all federal mandates and a major reduction of state ones.
The overabundance of rules and regulations — boxes and boxes, volumes and volumes, means NO PERSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING. The local boards are stymied by the invocation of the mantra “State Mandate” or “Federal Requirement”. It breeds disconnection, inability to act in bold ways to problems needing bold solutions.
Funny, they usually have the coaches teach “English”.
Yes - especially the current administration which attempted to insert itself directly into the classroom with a set of premeditated “lesson plans”, that if not for responsible parents, would have sailed through without a peep.
When this government stops with pushing their policy oriented agenda in the classroom, then our kids can feel free to stop their “disruptive” form of response to this indoctrination.
Until the bias is put into check, the t-shirt slogans will continue from the christian right.
Be an adult. It is the parents who must organize and fight this, school board by school board. Or have hundreds of kids wear the shirts — but to have one, or a few, that just disrupts and is ineffective. It is a loser’s gambit. It empowers the enemy. The kids are very attuned as to who is ostracized and what ideas result in being ostracized. They kids get the message of what ideas NOT to have.
You have to give them the idea that your ideals are GOOD to have.
IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, FIGHT TO WIN.
You may want to revisit the article at the link.
The school board was served and must now justify its actions in court.
They have a very weak case and looks like the kid and his family will most likely prevail.
No better way to win than in a court of law, especially after this administration started instigated this entire flap with attempting to stick their face and their policy directly into the classroom.
I view that as bad, the courts should stay out of such issues.
“I view that as bad, the courts should stay out of such issues.”
So after a student’s basic civil rights are violated, only after being forced to endure government propganda in the schools, just where to you suggest that this kid and his family gain restitution and also set a precedent for public schools to avoid future violations of the law?
No doubt that this case will be used as a precedent in their court hearing. Nice reminder regarding your posted link.
All ‘slogan’ and “clever pictures” or “emblem’ tshirts should be banned...period. They ARE disruptive.
Our city about 6 years ago decided to have a public school dress code...Basic navy or khaki pants ( girls could wear either pants or skirts), and khaki, navy or white shirts—either dress shirt or a collared golf shirt. The items were available at many reasonable stores ( and were much cheaper than the ‘latest “ fads) .
That last almost a year. Guess who killed the “dress code”?? Yup...the parents!
Homeschool. Or private school. More to another district. KEEP THE COURTS OUT OF RUNNING THE SCHOOLS.
What basic civil right did you mean, by the way — if you meant free speech, no. The courts are wrong in saying that students have free speech rights in school. You cannot read such a right into the First Amendment, it is a pernicious invention that has helped destabilize the school systems.
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