Posted on 10/30/2023 7:39:42 AM PDT by george76
The Colorado School district that wanted to ban a student from wearing a Gadsden Flag patch on his bookbag is now the target of a federal lawsuit for its handling of the situation.
In August, Jaiden Rodriguez came under fire at the Vanguard School, part of Harrison School District 2 in Colorado Springs, when the school banned the flag patch before relenting as it became the focus of national attention...
a video made the rounds of social media showing Jaiden’s mother explaining the history of the Revolutionary War flag to a school official who had believed the yellow flag with the snake and the “Don’t Tread On Me” text was linked to slavery.
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When the school relented, it said that if there was a complaint from anyone, the patch might be banned again.
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The Mountain States Legal Foundation .. filed the suit.
Jaiden‘s case is important for all Americans who are concerned about the increasing tendency of public schools to silence points of view that do not fit with the ‘progressive’ political orthodoxy,” James Kerwin, senior counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation
...
the threat to ban the patch “is nothing short of a threat to censor his speech once again.”..
the case is larger than one 12-year-old.
“Public schools are fast becoming the front lines in the battle to preserve a culture and practice of free speech. Jaiden’s case will set an important precedent to hold schools accountable for their duty to honor and protect the First Amendment,”
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Schools should not be suppressing freedom of speech, and they shouldn’t be taking these extreme positions about historical symbols
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Mountain States Legal Foundation .. too many education bureaucrats have exploited the idea that ‘disruptions’ may be caused by speech that they simply don’t like.”
(Excerpt) Read more at westernjournal.com ...
“When the school relented, it said that if there was a complaint from anyone, the patch might be banned again.”
Right. Because the First Amendment guarantees free speech as long as no one complains.
” believed the yellow flag..... was linked to slavery”
Isn’t everything linked to slavery? That’s all public schools teach nowadays.
Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007) ruled that schools have a compelling interest when the message is promoting illegal drug use.
Students are entitled to equal treatment under the law, and schools do not get to pick and choose what speech they prefer.
Schools cannot ban this student’s flag while allowing others to be displayed. They not only banned the student’s flag but also said they based such prohibitions on whether someone complained. That’s essentially an admission of guilt. Looks like a slam dunk case to me.
Schools can enact policies that keep order such as uniforms and restrictions on messages on clothes. But these policies have to be applied equally and not be used to target speech they don’t like.
Or a mexican, isis, nazi, commie china, russian hammer and sickle flag...
Good for Jaiden! May he succeed in taking them for a record breaking settlement.
Should he win he should quit that school and enroll in a solid private school just to rub it in.
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