OMAHA, Neb.—The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has called on an Omaha school district to dismiss suspensions against 23 students who wore memorial T-shirts to class.
“Going back to school shouldn’t mean sacrificing free speech rights at the school house door,” Amy Miller of ACLU Nebraska said Friday.
Officials at Millard South High School have said the students violated the district’s dress policy by wearing shirts honoring a slain friend. They said the shirts are disruptive.
The T-shirts bear the phrase “R-I-P Julius,” honoring former classmate Julius Robinson, an 18-year-old who was shot to death in May. Two other 18-year-olds have been arrested in connection with the slaying, which authorities say was gang-related.
Miller said the district has the leeway to censor messages that are disruptive to learning, but the T-shirts don’t fall into that category. Rather, she said, the shirts allow students to express grief.
“Now the school has heightened that loss by silencing any reference to their grief,” Miller said.
An official with Millard Public Schools said counselors are available to help the students deal with the loss of their classmate.
Angelo Passarelli, the district’s director of administrative affairs, said Friday that 23 students had been suspended over the past three days.
He referred questions about ACLU’s request to the district’s attorney, Duncan Young.
Young said the district wouldn’t be able to comment further on the situation because it involved student discipline.
Miller, of ACLU Nebraska, said the organization would consider legal action if the district doesn’t dismiss the suspensions.
———
On the Net:
Millard Public Schools:
ACLU Nebraska:
