School Resources & Training Institute
Legal and Liability Article
Database
For assistance with
this database contact us at information@school-training.com or
at 800-365-0119.
Return to SR-TI Article Index
PATC Article Detail
Title:
Can Boys wear Lipstick to School? If Momís a Witch, Perhaps
Author:
Tim McClure
ID:
LL130
Issue:
SU2-2
Issue Date:
2005-03-01
Edition:
School
Type:
Article
Body:
The San Bernardino County, (Calif.) Sun newspaper recently reported a school suspension of a male student for wearing makeup that raises questions of infringement upon freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
James Herndon, a 16 year-old freshman at Pacific High School in San Bernardino, was suspended for five days for wearing lipstick and eye makeup. A school official was unable to cite a rule or regulation that specifically prohibits students from wearing makeup. The County Sun reported, however, that a school official referred a reporter to a section of the student and handbook that says if clothing "creates a safety hazard ... or when the dress constitutes a serious and unnecessary distraction to the learning process or tends to disrupt campus order,î the student is in violation of the schoolís dress code. James reportedly wears the makeup and his dyed-red hair in a mohawk haircut to express his religious beliefs. James, whose mother is a Wiccan priestess, maintains that the makeup expresses his beliefs in supernatural phenomena that the religion embraces. He also maintains that he is being deprived of his freedom of expression and is a victim of sex discrimination. A representative of the ACLU agrees with James: "High school is the time where many students are expressing themselves and really finding themselves and so to suspend the student is such a severe punishment it's wrong. It's wrong not only as a legal matter, but it's not good policyî, said ACLU Attorney Christine Sun. It will be interesting to see how this case comes out if the ACLU puts its money where its mouth is and files suit against the school district. The Supreme Court, in Burnside v. Byars (1969), held that a school may not prohibit students from wearing armbands unless there is some compelling state interest to prohibit the armbands. In Burnside, students were wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam war. The school prohibited the bands because school officials feared that their presence could be disruptive to the school environment. The court said that the armbands in that case were symbolic speech that may be protected by the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech Clause and the school districtís reasons for prohibiting the armbands was not compelling enough to justify their prohibition. Likewise, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, (1972) the Supreme Court held that a violation of the Free Exercise Clause occurs if the government burdens a person because of his/her religious beliefs. In Yoder, the state of Wisconsin prosecuted and convicted Amish parents for failing to send their children to high school. They appealed the conviction, arguing that their religious beliefs dictated that their children go to school only through the eighth grade. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, finding that the parentís religious beliefs outweighed the stateís interest in universal education. In this type of case, courts will examine the severity of the burden on the individual's religion, and if the burden is significant, the courts, as in free speech cases, will require the government to demonstrate a compelling or overriding public interest in suppressing a personís religious freedom. In the San Bernardino case, a district spokeswoman, Linda Hill, declined to comment citing student confidentiality laws. She said, however, that students shouldn't wear excessive makeup or clothing that could conceal [a studentís] identity or be distracting. She noted that the rule applies to both boys and girls. This begs the question: If pressed, will Pacific High Schoolís reasons for prohibiting James from wearing makeup to school amount to a compelling reason?
Citation 1:
Citation 2:
Citation 3:
Keywords:
Other Information: