PDL school speech rights case ends

U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak agreed with Heather Gillman, a junior at Ponce de Leon High School, that the school's decision to prohibit wearing shirts and other displays of rainbows and gay pride was taking away student's rights to free speech. Gillman's cousin is openly gay and she and other students wore items in support of gay students. Her cousin went to the principal complaining about being intimidated by other students, but ending up being censored and suspended along with other students. As previously reported on First News, Gillman was assisted in taking the case to court by the ACLU.
 
The judge said he feels the School Board missed a chance to teach tolerance and diversity.
The School District believes actions taken by the students and planned by students which could cause disruptions of class, was enough to evoke a rule against wearing certain items. Thus the case was if the District's rule against wearing items that can cause disruption of class was properly applied, and if not then was the student's right to free speech taken away.
 
The ACLU reports Ponce de Leon High School's principal David Davis admitted under oath he had banned students from wearing any clothing or symbols supporting equal rights for gay people. Davis also testified that he believed rainbows were "sexually suggestive" and would make students unable to study because they'd be picturing gay sex acts in their mind. The principal went on to admit that while censoring rainbows and gay pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the Confederate battle flag.
 
In most cases of what students can wear to school, the decision is based on any dress code policy. School districts have student codes of conduct and district wide policies. These can vary from district to district and even from school to school. The basic thought is a rule cannot be applied to one person or to a group and not to others. A rule must be applied equally.
 
An example would be a student wishing to wear a Christian message or symbol. If the school has a dress code policy against wearing any messages or symbols and none are being allowed, then the Christian message would also not be allowed, based on the rule being applied equally. If the message is not allowed because the school did not like it, but did allow other messages, then the rule would not be applied fairly and the student would have a case. In the Holmes district, the rule concerned wearing messages or symbols which could lead to disruption of classes. Based on several factors, the district maintained the Gay Pride messages did just that. The judge based his decision on there not being enough evidence the messages would cause disruption, thus saying the student's rights to free speech were being limited.
 
WMBB News 13 reports School Board Superintendent Steve Griffin took the stand and said the District did not restrict homosexual slogans and symbols until they caused a disturbance in school, thus violating School Board policy. Griffin says Gillman's sole interest in wearing the slogans doesn't violate policy.  However, the expressions coupled together with other students, created a movement preventing administrators and teachers from providing order on campus. A 14-year-old witness testified that she was part of the group that chanted for gay rights during school, recruited supporters to participate, and vandalized the school.
 
The judge's ruling prohibits the school from stopping students from expressing support of gay pride and from any retaliation of students.