A mother has filed a lawsuit against the administrators at McSwain Elementary School on behalf of her daughter, alleging that administrators violated the seventh-grader’s First Amendment rights when they ordered the student to take off her pro-life T-shirt, according to FOXNews.com.
According to court documents – filed by Anna Amador – the incident occurred in April 2008 at the K-8 school. Amador’s daughter was wearing a shirt that displayed two pictures of a fetus growing in the womb for “National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.” Amador claims the school’s office clerk intentionally grabbed the plaintiff’s arm without consent and forcibly led her to the principal’s office.
At that point, the student was ordered to remove her shirt and to never wear it to the school again, according to FOXNews.com.
The school district says the plaintiff was asked to remove her clothing because it violated the school’s dress code, as the shirt constituted as “inappropriate subject matter.”
One lawyer for the plaintiff said the fetus images on her shirt were similar to pictures found in her science textbooks. Additionally, he said no students complained about the shirt and the girl’s parents were not called when the incident occurred.
Furthermore, in the legal complaint, Amador said other students at the school have been allowed to wear expressive shirts. She blames the school for maintaining an inconsistent dress code, citing that it determines which messages are acceptable and which are not.
The school district attempted to get the case thrown out, citing “failure to state a cognizable claim;” however, a U.S. Eastern District Court judge ruled that all but one of Amador’s claims could go forward.
For the full story, click here.
