American flag ban case

[Jazzy]

On Monday morning, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear a case from California that allowed a public school to ban American flag apparel worn by students.

Without comment, the Court denied the case of Dariano v. Morgan Hills School District. At least four of the nine Justices were needed to get the case before the Court next year for arguments.

The move seemingly upholds a precedent set in the late 1960s in the Tinker decision that school officials can censor student passive free speech if they feel the speech disrupts school activities.

On Friday, the Justices met in private to consider the case, which references several prominent First Amendment issues and reflects on the changing demographics in 21st Century America.

The controversy goes back to a May 2009 incident between two groups of students at Live Oak High School. At a school-sponsored Cinco de Mayo event, a Mexican-American student walked around campus with the flag of Mexico and other students flew a makeshift United States flag in response and chanted at the flag-bearing student. Students on both sides complained about the incident.

A year later, several students came to school on Cinco de Mayo wearing American flag shirts and school officials told the students to remove the American flag shirts, or turn the shirts inside out. The educators said the American flag shirts could send a message that would offend the Cinco de Mayo celebrants and they had public safety concerns.

The parents of the American flag-wearing students sued on their behalf, alleging First Amendment violations by the Morgan Hill School District.

The federal Ninth Circuit Court ruled in favor of Morgan Hill School District. The lower courts said that the educators’ American flag apparel ban didn’t violate a standard set in the famous Tinkercase.

In the Tinker v. Des Moines case of 1969, the Supreme Court said that students “don’t shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The Court also said in Tinker that educators can take censorship action against students if “students’ activities would materially and substantially disrupt the work and discipline of the school.”

In this new case, the lawyers for the students claim the Ninth Circuit is trying to change this definition, by restricting passive First Amendment speech. And in fact, the student’s attorneys say the Court should make it clear that American flag displays of any type shouldn’t be banned at public schools.

Full article

If American flag apparel is not approved for display by students, then the same should be enforced for any other flag, regardless of the date referenced. Last time I checked, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration in Mexico, not the US. It should not be encouraged to be celebrated in our public schools.

Your thoughts?

 

[Dee]

Full article

If American flag apparel is not approved for display by students, then the same should be enforced for any other flag, regardless of the date referenced. Last time I checked, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration in Mexico, not the US. It should not be encouraged to be celebrated in our public schools.

Your thoughts?

We celebrate other cultures as an excuse to get wasted and then piss and moan about it when our children are exposed to--gasp--different ways other people live their lives in this world! I find it funny that people don't understand the educational benefits of familiarizing ourselves to the ways of the world and the people in it.

 

[mrldii]

Interesting article; *interesting* and hypocritical ruling from the SCOTUS. If I'm understanding the article correctly, in the 60s it was determined that clothing depicting the US flag could be worn, as prior to that ruling, it was deemed disrespectful TO make/wear clothing of the US flag's material. A subsequent ruling deemed that school officials CAN ban such displays, if allowing students to wear flags is going to be disruptive and could lead to tragic results.

OK...I get that...sorta. And, I'll even go so far as to say, "OK...students wearing US flags on Cinco de Mayo IS a form of taunting...and taunting is not allowed, per the earlier ruling...and school officials have the duty/right to avoid confrontations before they escalate."

BUT, if I'm going to accept that (and cleave to it, as it appears the SCOTUS has), then the Mexican students also don't get to wear the Mexican flag on the 5th of May because "it is a form of taunting...and it's going to be disruptive and may lead to tragic results, too."

EVERYbody can wear flags EVERY day if they want, or NObody can wear flags ANY day, ever.

It's a goose/gander kind of thingy, with me. The SCOTUS missed the bus on this one; hopefully, the school administrators will come to their senses and ban ALL flags on EVERY day, rather than granting a privilege to some that is deliberately withheld from others... which is rather unconstitutional.