 |
Parents sue New Jersey school district after students prohibited from wearing Hitler Youth buttons
Students were protesting new mandatory uniform policy
December 15, 2006
The button had the words “No School
Uniforms” in a circle with a line slashed through them. In the background
was an image of the Hitler Youth, which was an organized paramilitary movement
of German boys during World War II.
Michael DePinto, a fifth-grade
student at Public School 14, and Anthony LaRocco, a seventh-grade student at
Woodrow Wilson School, wore the button in protest of the Bayonne School
District’s mandatory uniform policy, which was instituted at the beginning
of the 2006-2007 school year.
“The button is not sending a
pro-Nazi message,” said the students’ lawyer, Karin White Morgen.
“Reprimand of free speech is an erosion of basic civil
rights.”
Court documents say DePinto had been wearing the button
for six weeks without incident until Nov. 16, when the principal sent a letter
to his parents. DePinto had also been wearing the required uniform.
The
lawsuit also says LaRocco had not been wearing the uniform and that his parents
were seeking a medical exemption because he is autistic. LaRocco wore the button
once before a letter was sent to his parents, the lawsuit says.
Morgen
said the letters sent home to both sets of parents did not mention any
educational disruption caused by the button.
Both letters are identical,
stating the badge is “objectionable” and “offensive” to
Bayonne residents and it does not “constitute free speech.” It also
said the students would be suspended if they wore the button to school again.
“We don’t have a problem with students protesting the
uniform, but it is offensive to some of us,” Woodrow Wilson School
Principal Catherine Quinn said.
“Offensive speech creates
dialogue,” Morgen said. “That’s where new ideas come
from.”
The lawsuit argues “Any offense taken by Bayonne
residents to the message conveyed by the button is considered a ‘secondary
effect.’ Such secondary effect cannot serve to prohibit
speech.”
Robert Merryman, attorney for the school district, said
both teachers and parents complained about the button.
Morgen said the
student’s case is clear under the 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker
v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, which states that
speech can only be censored if it causes a disruption to the school’s
educational mission.
Merryman and Quinn both said the button did cause
some disruption in the classroom.
Morgen said instead of attacking the
students, this is an opportunity for teachers to teach lessons on World War II,
the First Amendment and other related issues.
Morgen said both parties
agreed that the students would not wear the button until a court decision is
made, making a temporary restraining order to allow the students to wear the
button unnecessary.
Oral arguments will be heard today before a district
judge in Newark, N.J. on a preliminary injunction to prevent the school from
disciplining the students.
By April Hale, SPLC staff writer
© 2006 Student Press Law Center
Share
For More Information:
< Return to Previous Page