At Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, CA on Cinco de Mayo apparently it is. It is offensive enough in the minds of administrators there that they felt they had to send five students home from school for wearing them.
The five teens were sitting at a table outside Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Calif., on Wednesday morning when Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez asked two of them to remove their American flag bandannas, one of their parents told FoxNews.com. The boys complied, but were asked to accompany Rodriguez to the principal’s office.
The five students — Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho, Matt Dariano, Dominic Maciel and Clayton Howard — were then told they must turn their T-shirts inside-out or be sent home, though it would not be considered a suspension. Rodriguez told the students he did not want any fights to break out between Mexican-American students celebrating their heritage and those wearing American flags.
Dariano’s mother, Diana, told FoxNews.com she and parents of the other four students are now demanding an apology from officials and are considering a lawsuit.
At least is wasn’t disciplinary action, but there is something wrong when a kid in the United States can’t wear a patriotic shirt in his school. Just like Mexican-American kids shouldn’t have to worry about celebrating their heritage. Freedom of speech should apply all around even while on school groups. First Amendment rights for high school students was reinforced back in 1969 with the Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community Schools U.S. Supreme Court case. That decision affirmed that youth do not shed their constitutional rights upon passing through the schoolhouse door provided it isn’t disruptive nor infringes on the free speech rights of others. I hardly think a patriotic t-shirt meets that criteria. I’d like to think if the families sue, they’d win, but this is in 9th Circus Court territory so who knows.
The school district officials are investigating and I hope they do some remedial training for those who made this decision. I also hope they get their apology.
