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Students Rights and Responsibilities

Rachel Swenson
Nevada School Law
Nancy Webb M. ED
April 1 2015

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A High School student, named Bill Foster was suspended from school for selfexpression. Bill wore an earring to school to express himself. He believed the earring
that he wore would attract the attention of the younger ladies at his school. The policy
at his school prohibits any students from wearing any gang signs such as jewelry,
emblems, earrings and from wearing any athletic hats. This policy was put into place to
prohibits any gang activity from developing at the high school. Bill Foster was not
involved in any gang activities, but he broke policy and got himself suspended from
school. He filed a suit against the high school for their wrong doing. Was Bill just
trying to express himself or break the schools policy.
Doe v. Brockton School Comm. (2000) The first case, Pat Doe is an 15 year old
transgender 8th grader who attends school wearing either male or female clothing. Pat
has an condition called gender identity disorder (GID) and is biologically male. He often
wears clothing that is typically for girls, including earrings, barrettes, bras, fashion
accessories and hair extensions. They are similar to the clothing that girls wear at his
school. He is expressing his rights to free expression in school as an girl. The principal
Cardone and many other administrators told Pat, he was not allowed to wear girls
clothing or dress in a manner that allowed her to express her female gender identity.
The principal said that Pat was disrupting his classmates in the school while dressing
up in girls clothing. But Pat is only trying to have expression of her female gender
identity. The trial court determined that the schools discriminatory requirements that Pat
not wear girls clothing is a likely violation of her constructional rights. Attending school

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requires her to give up her constitutional rights and self-identity, a harm invariably
found by the court to be irreparable. The student was expressing his rights to The First
Amendment.
Doe v. Brokton School Comm. (2000) This does back up the case of Bill Foster,
a high school student that got suspended for school for self-expression while earning an
earring to school. In this case the school policy was that students were prohibited from
wearing gang symbols such as jewelry, emblems, earrings, and hats. Bill Foster was just
wearing an earring with no gang signs connected. The only thing in the school policy
would have been a gang earring that Bill was wearing, but it was just an earring. If
Bill cannot wear an simple earring to school than the young ladies at the school should
no able to wear any earrings. Bill Foster was just trying to express himself, just like Pat
Doe was in his school. Under The First Amendment it protects all forms of expression,
not only verbal but some forms of clothing/dress code to express themselves to a point.
So yes Bill Foster has that right to wear that earring and Pat Doe has his right to wear
girls clothing to express themselves. It is their constitutional rights to do so.
Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District (1997) The second case,
Brianna Stephenson she was an eighth grade student, that had an tattoo of an small
cross on her finger. She said her tattoo was an form of self-expression. Brianna was a
honor roll student at her school and also served as an home room representative. She
had no record of any disciplinary actions or problems. When Brianna stared attending
class at West High School there was gang activity present. The Principal William Rettko
took action at the school, saying any student involved in any gang activities will be
suspended from school. The definition of gang related activities per the Principal were

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gang colors, symbols, signals, signs, and etc. If you have these or do these signs you
were in violation and will be suspend from the school. Briannas school counselor
Wayne Granneman noticed that she had a tattoo on her finger and notified the associate
Principal Jim Foy. Principal Foy notified a police officer David Holden, the officer said
it based off a drawing he said it was a gang symbol. Brianna got suspend from school
and the asked Brianna to get the tattoo removed or she cannot come back to school
there. The school was in violence of The First Amendment of self-expression rights.
Brianna should not have suspended and asked to removal her tattoo. She was expressing
her rights, I think the school should have just asked her to cover it up with a bandage
or something.
Stephenson v Davenport Community School District (1997) This case does back
up the case of Bill Foster, A high school student that got suspend from school for selfexpression while wearing an earring at school. In this case the schools policy was that
students were prohibited from wearing gang symbols such as jewelry. Bill Foster was
covered under The First Amendment of self-expression. In the case of Stephenson v
Davenport Community School District (1997) Brianna Stephenson was a student at
Davenport Community School, she got suspended from school for having a tattoo on her
finger. She told her Principal Foy that the tattoo was an self-expression and she had a
right to have it. The school recommended Brianna to get it removed or be suspend from
school. Both of these cases are very similar to one another. Bill wants to self-express
himself with an earring and Brianna is expressing herself with an tattoo on her finger.
The First Amendment protects them to express themselves.
My decision in the case of Bill Foster, I think that Bills rights were coved

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under The First Amendment freedom to have self-expression. But also the school district
also has a policy to prohibit the wearing of earrings on schools grounds. So I guess if
youre at school and they have that policy enforced than you better take those earring
out before you get on school grounds. The school district has the responsivity to create
a safe learning environment and if you break those rules than you will be suspended.
This could really go both ways, we have our rights under The First Amendment to
express ourselves but also the school has their responsibility to keep their students safe.
The school systems have rules for a reason for safety and we all need to respect those
rules and policies. If youre not going to follow the rules than you will be suspended,
just easy as that. Follow the rules.

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References
Bill Foster
Http://www.advancedschoollaw.blogspot.com2010/01case-stud-6.html

Doe v Brockton School Community School District (2000)

Http://www.transgengerlaw.org/case/app-opp.pdf

Stephenson v Davenport Community School District (1997)

Http://www.caselaw.findlaw.com/us-8th-circit/1097522.html