Oct 27, 2007 08:02
Do students have the right to speak freely in a school newspaper? Not according to Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier. They do, however, have the right to harass eachother freely without the school stepping in--- so long as the harassement takes place in the name of religion!
"A high school student can pursue nominal damages from an eastern Kentucky school district over its required anti-harassment training, an appeals court ruled Friday.
Judge Karen Nelson Moore, joined by Judge John R. Adams, wrote that the allegation of a policy stifling free speech is enough to allow Morrison to seek damages. To make his case, the judges said, Morrison must show that the policy would "deter a person of ordinary firmness" from exercising free-speech rights.
Morrison sued the school district claiming that the mandatory anti-harassment training threatened him with punishment for expressing religious beliefs in opposition to homosexuality. Morrison is a professed Christian who believes his religion requires him to speak out against what he sees as behavior that doesn't comport with his understanding of Christian morality.
The policy was later changed to allow students to opt out of the training and exempt speech that would normally be protected off campus."
Hopefully this will be overturned on appeal!
quotes,
queerdom,
religion