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Excerpt from www.jurist.org
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Sunday upheld a Massachusetts public middle school’s prohibition against one of its students from wearing a shirt with a message critical of transgender ideology. The appeals court found the prohibition to be consistent with the free speech protections of the US Constitution’s First Amendment under Tinker v. Des Moines.
John T. Nichols Middle School (NMS) has a dress code with a preface stating, “clothing … that causes distractions and inhibits learning is not allowed.” The dress code forbids “hate speech” and “imagery that target[s] groups based on … gender identity.” It also forbids “apparel that the administration determines to be unacceptable to our community standards.”
On March 21, 2023, Seventh grader Liam Morrison wore a shirt with the message “[t]here are only two genders” to NMS. The school contacted Morrison’s father and requested him to make Morrison wear more appropriate attire. Morrison’s father refused to comply and Morrison was told he could not attend class unless he stopped wearing the shirt. Morrison attempted to wear the shirt again with the message “censored” taped over the “only two” from the original message, but the school demanded him to remove it and he complied. Morrison through his father sued NMS for the shirt bans and alleged that the dress code is too vague and overbroad, violating the right to free speech protected under the First Amendment.
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