Case Study 1

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Giovanna Torres
EDU 210
College of Southern Nevada

Case Study 2

Students Rights and Responsibilities

A high school in the United States introduced a new policy that forbids students to wear
gang symbols to school such as jewelry emblems, earrings, and athletic caps. The motive for
this new policy was the frequent gang activities in the school. High school student, Bill Foster,
was not a part of any gang activities, but decided to wear an earring to school as a form of selfexpression. He believed that in wearing this earring, he would attract the ladies at school. Bill
was suspended that day for this action, and he decided to file a law suit. But, were Bills
freedom of expression rights really violated in this case?
Bills intentions werent to cause any harm, or trouble, but to simply define himself as a
person. It is unlawful for someone to overlook someones freedom of speech or selfexpression. An example of an unconstitutional suspension is, the case of Tinker v. Des Moines
Independent School District, where three students were suspended due to wearing black
armbands in protest of the Vietnam War. The courts established that these students had the
right to free speech. The school had to prove if these actions disrupted school activities in any
way to support their actions, but failed to do so.
Another example would be the case of Doe v. Brockton School Committee. A student
attended school dressed as a cross-dresser, and was suspended for it, that day. This student
also filed a law suit against the school. The court ruled in his/her favor because the school was
not able to demonstrate that these actions were of any disruption to the school. The courts
usually refuse to receive a case that deals with student appearance, unless the school can verify
that their appearance is materially, and significantly disruptive, or harmful. These are great

Case Study 3

examples of the right to freedom of speech and self- expression, which Bill should be allowed to
have.
However, there are certain states who consider what you wear as a form of selfexpression, but some who dont. A case that would counterclaim the plaintiffs defense would
be Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education. In this case, the court ruled in favor of the
school stating that, the school was allowed to prohibit a student from wearing any gear that is
considered offensive to the school. The school believed that the t-shirt this student was
wearing was in contradiction of the schools educational mission.
In the case of Newsom v. Albemarle County School Board, a similar situation occurred
where a student was suspended for wearing a t-shirt to school with a picture of men holding
firearms and the phrase shooting sports camp. The school districts handbook states, that
students are forbidden from wearing clothing with messages on it, jewelry, or have personal
belongings that associate with drugs, alcohol, sex, or advertise racism. The school principle
believed that the t-shirt had the potential to disturb the educational process because the
graphics on the t-shirt were large and bold, she feared that Newsom's classmates would also
relate the images with previous events that took place at Columbine High School and other
occurrences of school-related violence. The court ruled in favor of the school board due to
Newsom not being able to successfully prove his claim.
In conclusion, I believe that Bill foster could have prevented his suspension if he
followed school policies. His right to freedom of expression might have been violated, but with
recent gang activities going on in the school, it might be best for all students to avoid being

Case Study 4

associated with it. It could be misinterpreted, and cause some sort of dispute that can be
prevented. The school made this policy for the safety of students and Bill should respect that.

Case Study 5

References
Pearson Education. (2003). Welcome to the Companion Website for School Law for Teachers:
Concepts and Applications. Retrieved from
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-4th-circuit/1173598.html

Underwood, Julie., Webb, L. Dean. (2005). School Law for Teachers: Concepts and applications.
P.121-124