Supreme Court won't hear ban on "boobies" bracelet case
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
An appeals court ruling, upholding for the first time the rights of students to comment on political or social issues, is allowed to stand. It doesn't matter if the content makes some people squirm.
The U.S. Supreme Court today said it would not hear an Easton school district's appeal, effectively ending a "boobies" bracelet ban case that began three years ago.
The case involved the East Area School District's decision to suspend two middle school students for wearing bracelets that read, "I (heart) boobies." The Third Circuit Court judges ruled in 2013 that the district's decision was unconstitutional because it violated the students' First Amendment rights.
"The First Amendment protects schools as a space where students are free to discuss important issues like breast cancer and talk about their bodies in positive terms," said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in a statement. "The court's decision today is an important reminder to school administrators that they can't punish students for speaking out just because their speech might be uncomfortable or misunderstood."
The Supreme Court let stand an appellate court decision that is a first -- a ruling that student speech that comments on political or social issues is protected by the First Amendment, even if it contains language that some people might consider lewd.
The bracelets, which promote breast cancer awareness, were considered by the district to be vulgar and disruptive to other students. After a ban was issued by the school's administration, students Kayla Martinez and Briana Hawk came to school wearing them during a school-sponsored Breast Cancer Awareness month. They were promptly suspended.
In November 2010, the ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of the two students. A District Court judge ruled in favor of the girls and ordered the school administrators to cease to enforce the ban. The EASD then appealed to the full 14-judge panel of the District Court. That panel ruled that the bracelets were not "plainly lewd" and no evidence of significant disruption to the class was evident. The district then asked to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, claiming the lower court's ruling was ambiguous.
The Easton Express-Times reports the district has apparently spent more than $107,000 in litigation costs. While most of the price tag was covered by the EASD's insurance, the paper says that $29,000 was paid by the district.
