Court: School wrong to punish students who wore black armbands to protest dress code

[struggle4progress]

Jury awards no damages, despite judge's instructions

© 2007 Student Press Law Center

September 19, 2007

ARKANSAS — A school district that punished students who wore black armbands to protest the district's uniform policy violated the students' First Amendment rights, a federal judge ruled, but a jury awarded no damages to the students.

Judge Leon Holmes ruled that although the Watson Chapel School District’s dress code policy was legal, punishing students for protesting it was not. The judge then instructed the jury to decide the amount of damages, which the instructions said “must” be at least $1.

The jury, however, awarded nothing to students Chris Lowry, Colton Dougan and Micheal Joseph.

District officials did not dispute that the students were punished because their armbands were part of a protest against the dress code and also admitted the armbands did not disrupt the school, the court noted in its Sept. 13 judgment ...

http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1608&year=

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

1. My son organized stuff like this when he was in high school

If ANYBODY said they were offended by something on a t-shirt, the students had to wear their t-shirt inside out for the rest of the day. My son talked a BUNCH of kids into all showing up for school with their t-shirts on inside out. He instructed them all to answer if questioned, "why? Does my inside out shirt offend you? NOW, what should I do?" Another week, he talked them all into wearing church type clothes - shirts, ties, suits for the boys, church-type dresses for the girls. It drove the powers that be crazy. (Perhaps I may have helped him plan, just a bit.)

[struggle4progress]

2. I love it!