HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) A federal judge approved an agreement Monday (Oct. 19) between the parent of a middle school student and a Pennsylvania school district that will allow the student to wear an anti-abortion T-shirt to school.
Officials at Crossroads Middle School told the student to turn inside out his homemade T-shirt, which read “Abortion is not Healthcare,” the day President Obama addressed students nationwide.
William Boyer, the student’s father, filed a lawsuit against West Shore School District in U.S. Middle District Court earlier this month alleging that his son was unfairly censored. The lawsuit also claims the district’s policies regarding student expression and dress and grooming are unconstitutional and that the censorship of religious and political speech violates the First and 14th amendments to the Constitution.
Under the agreement, the district will permit students to wear anti-abortion and religious T-shirts and will not enforce the portions of its “dress and grooming” and “student expression” policies that are being challenged by Boyer. The district may still enforce policies that restrict student expression if it will cause a substantial disruption, is offensively lewd or encourages the use of illegal drugs or alcohol.