Jena Six T-shirt Ban Leads Student to Sue Tenn. District
A student was forced to remove her Free the Jena Six T-shirt at her high school or leave campus has filed a lawsuit last Thursday against the Rutherford Country Board of Education and the assistant Principal. She was one of 20 students asked to remove the Free Jena 6 t-shirts. The student claims that her First Amendment rights have been violated. The Free the Jena Six t-shirts were made following an incident where six black students were charged with murder for beating a white student to death. The Assistant Principal informed the student when she arrived at school that the shirt might be a problem that that she was to remove it because it was important to maintain a safe environment at school and the t-shirt subject matter was controversial. The students attorney claims that the school can’t ban shirts based on fear that something might happen.
In the case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District in 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that public schools can only censor speech if it will result in “material disruption or invade the rights of others”. The student is suing for money and the ability to wear the Free Jena 6 t-shirts at school.
