A local middle schooler who was banned from wearing an “only two genders” shirt to school will be the focus of a federal appeals court hearing, which could have major implications for student free speech.
Middleboro student Liam Morrison, now in 8th grade, last year was barred by school officials from wearing a shirt to school that read, “There are only two genders.” The 7th grader then wore a shirt that stated, “There are censored genders,” and again, he was ordered to take off the shirt.
Liam, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom and Massachusetts Family Institute, filed a federal free speech lawsuit in the wake of the shirt controversy last year.
After the U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the Middleboro school officials, Liam’s case is now heading to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston on Thursday.
The Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys are asking the appeals court to rule that Nichols Middle School violated the First Amendment when school officials stopped Liam from wearing his shirts to school. They’re arguing that the school’s dress code policy is unconstitutional and discriminates against students based on the viewpoint they express.
“Students don’t lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building,” said ADF Senior Counsel and VP of U.S. Litigation David Cortman, who will be arguing before the court on Thursday.
“This case isn’t about T-shirts; it’s about a public school telling a middle-schooler that he isn’t allowed to express a view that differs from their own,” Cortman added.
When the Middleboro principal pulled Liam out of class last year and told him he had to take off his shirt, the principal said they had received complaints about the words on his shirt — and that the words might make some students feel unsafe.
Schools are allowed to impose limitations on student speech, according to the U.S. district court ruling from Judge Indira Talwani.
“Defendants do not dispute that the Shirt may be constitutionally protected speech, however, they assert that their restriction of the Shirt was justified where (i) the administration received complaints from students and staff, and (ii) the Shirt invaded on the rights of trans and gender non-conforming students, who are a protected class under Massachusetts law,” the judge’s ruling reads.
“School administrators were well within their discretion to conclude that the statement ‘THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS’ may communicate that only two gender identities–male and female–are valid, and any others are invalid or nonexistent, and to conclude that students who identify differently, whether they do so openly or not, have a right to attend school without being confronted by messages attacking their identities,” the judge added.
Middleboro school officials did not immediately respond to comment on Wednesday.
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