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The growing popularity of school uniforms and dress codes in public high schools is raising questions about students' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The ACLU-CT will address the topic at the 12th Annual First Amendment High School Conference on October 29th at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford.
When Jeffrey Pyle was in high school, he thought he was just getting ready for gym class when he put on a "Co-Ed Naked Band" tee shirt. He didn't anticipate that the school would send him home to change the tee shirt and discipline him for violating a hastily adopted dress code. The new dress code prohibited students from wearing clothing in school that had "comments, pictures, slogans or designs that are obscene, profane, lewd or vulgar."
Pyle, who is now an attorney specializing in First Amendment rights, will speak about his experience at the First Amendment High School Conference. John Finn, Chair and Professor of Government at Wesleyan University, will discuss the circumstances under which schools have the right to limit students' freedom of expression and some cases that demonstrate circumstances where schools cannot.
At the First Amendment High School conference, students will learn about important U. S. Supreme Court rulings on their First Amendment rights, including Tinker v. Des Moines and Bethel v. Fraser. The students will work in groups to apply case law from these and other cases to their analysis of the constitutionality of school dress codes adopted by schools for different purposes under different circumstances. Students will also debate school uniform policies.
The ACLU-CT is proud to continue the legacy of the Center for First Amendment Rights by hosting the 12th Annual First Amendment Conference.
HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS: If you are interested in bringing a group of high school students to the conference, click here to print out a registration form or e-mail Patrick Doyle at pdoyle@acluct.org with your name, contact information, the name of your school, and the number of students you'd like to bring.
The deadline for registering for the conference is October 22nd.
Click here for a recap of the 2008 conference.
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