“The boy’s father says he intends to pursue a lawsuit against the district.”
And dad will lose. The precedent for this is well-established.
The district screwed up. If they had claimed that the boy was suspended because he created a disturbance, they would have won, no problem.
But suspended for “willful disobedience and defiance”?
When you willfully disobey an order that is unlawful, the law is on your side.
It would be like a police officer ordering you to let them into your house but they don’t have a warrent to show you.
If you refuse, they can’t charge you for defying them.
If the school district cannot show that they reserve the right to force any student to change any shirt they want, the school may very well lose this case.
I was involved in a t-shirt case at my kids school, same age bracket (8th graders). Went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was decided in favor of the school administration, per precedents. Elementary level kids do not hold the same rights as older kids do. If the school says it is disruptive, and acts within established rules of the school, the dad won’t win this one.
Dunno about that; depends how the Tinker Test is interpreted and by which court.