Artifact 4: Students Rights and Responsibilities 1

Artifact 4: Students Rights and Responsibilities

Lauren Hawthorne

EDU 210

College of Southern Nevada

Artifact 4: Students Rights and Responsibilities 2

A high school in the northwest United States implemented a policy banning students

from wearing gang symbols like jewelry, earrings, emblems, and athletic hats. A student, Bill

Foster was suspended for wearing an earring. He wore the earring as a form of self-expression

and to be more attractive to girls. He was not involved in gang related activity. Bill filed a suit

because he believed his freedom of expression rights were violated.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969) supports Fosters claims. In

this case, students were suspended for wearing black armbands in protest to the Vietnam War

even though the armbands caused no disruption. The court determined that the suspension was in

violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of expression. Similarly, Fosters earring

was a symbol of self-expression and caused no disruption to the educational setting.

Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District (1997) also supports Bill Foster

against the school for violation of his right to freedom of expression. In this case, the schools

dress code policy prohibiting gang related attire was too vague. They could not prove that their

descriptions of gang attire were accurate. So the prohibition of such clothing items was

unreasonable. In comparison, Fosters school may have inaccurately defined gang related wear.

Without the absolute knowledge that the earring was a gang symbol, the school is in violation of

Bills right to freedom of expression.

In contrast, Botoff v. Van Wert City Board of Education (2001) reveals that a school can

prohibit certain attire if it promotes values contrary to those of the school, or if it is considered

offensive. Therefore, Foster could be prohibited from wearing an earring because it promotes

values that go against the schools educational mission.

West v. Derby Unified School District (2000) upheld the notion that schools can punish

students for wearing or denoting symbols related to groups such as Ku Klux Klan, Aryan
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Nation-White Supremacy, Black Power, Confederate flags or articles, Neo-Nazi or any other

hate group. Symbols that are associated with those groups are deemed offensive. Similarly,

gang related symbols could be deemed offensive so the school has the right to prohibit them.

Fosters punishment could be seen as constitutional for he violated school policy by wearing

something offensive.

Based on the rulings of other court cases, I believe the court would rule in favor of Bill

Fosters claim. Although it was against school policy, the school had no evidence that the earring

would cause any disruption to the educational setting. Nor did they have any evidence that the

earring could be tied to any gang association. It was simply a form of self expression.
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References

Botoff v. Van Wert City Board of Education 220 F.3d 465 (6th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S.

920 (2001)

Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District, 110 F.3d 1303 (8th Cir. 1997).

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).

West v. Derby Unified School District, 206 F.3d 1358 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 920

(2001).