Assignment #4

Assignment #4

Reyna Franco

College of Southern Nevada

Assignment #4

Bill Foster attended a high school in the northeastern United States. He filed a lawsuit

against his school because he believed they violated his right to freedom of expression. Because

of the frequent gang activity amongst its students the school initiated a policy that prohibited

students from wearing gang symbols such as jewelry, emblems, earrings, and athletic caps. Bill,

who was not involved in gang activity, chose to wear an earring as a form of self-expression and

to impress the female students. As a result of his actions he was suspended. Were Bill’s freedom

expression rights violated in this case?

One court case that supports Bill Foster is Tinker v Des Moines Independent School

District. In this case three students were suspended for wearing black armbands in protest of the

Vietnam War. On February 24, 1969 the Supreme Court recognized the students’ constitutional

rights and found that the suspensions were unconstitutional. The courts stated that the school

must show more than a desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that accompany

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

Bill Foster, just as in the Tinker case, had a constitutional right to wear his earrings on school

premises. He was not involved in any gang-related activities and his self-expression did not

cause disruption or interfere with the rights of other students.

Another case that supports Bill Foster is In the court case of Chalifoux v New Caney

Independent School District two students were suspended for wearing rosaries outside of their

clothing while on school premises. The school connected the rosaries to “gang-related” apparel.

On September 3, 1997 the Court found that the school’s prohibition on gang-related apparel, and

its ban on rosaries, violates the Plaintiffs rights to free speech and free exercise of religion.

(Chalifoux v New Caney Independent School District, 976 F.Supp. 659 (1997). Bill Foster wore

his earrings as a form of self-expression and to impress the female students. It did not cause any
Assignment #4

interference in school activities. Just as the Plaintiffs in the Chalifoux case, the wearing of

rosaries did not interfere with school activities and the court ruled in their favor.

One court case that supports the school is West v Derby Unified School District. In this

case on March 21, 2000 the court ruled in favor of the school’s suspension of the student for

drawing the Confederate flag which was prohibited due to the racial harassment and intimidation

that was prevalent in the school (West v Derby Unified School District No. 260, 206 F.3d 1358

(2000). The student was made aware in specificity, just like Bill Foster, about what was

prohibited

Another court case that supports the school is Boroff v Van Wert City Board of Education

on July 26, 2000. In this case the Board of Education was successful in its judgment of

suspending the student for wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt because of the values the band

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

denied, 532 U.S. 920 (2001). The gang-related activities would also be against the values, which

are contrary to the schools educational mission,

In my opinion, I believe that the Court will find that the school district did properly suspend

Bill Foster. Schools must create policies to ensure a safe and productive learning environment.

Due to the gang activities that were prevalent in the school, it initiated a policy to prohibit the

wearing of gang symbols. The school district was very specific in all the items that were

prohibited. Just as in the case of West v Derby Unified School District. The school acted

properly in their suspension of Billy Foster and therefore his freedom of expression rights were

not violated.
Assignment #4

References

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

920 (2001).

Chalifoux v New Caney Independent School District, 976 F.Supp. 659 (1997).

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

West v Derby Unified School District No. 260, 206 F.3d 1358 (2000).