A public forum with U.S. Department of Justice lawyers is planned, said schools chief Nancy Follansbee.
EASTHAMPTON -- Superintendent Nancy Follansbee said Friday she will not ban a student from wearing a Confederate flag sweatshirt to school.
Follansbee, in an emailed newsletter to parents, confirmed that a student had been wearing the sweatshirt to school, and said her decision to allow the shirt had been informed by legal counsel:
"State and federal law protects a student's right to freedom of speech, and this includes wearing clothing with a symbol of the Confederate flag," Follansbee wrote. "The law also limits protection of freedom of speech, but to a limited extent and in limited circumstances, none of which apply to the current situation in our high school."
The news comes as Easthampton High School struggles with fallout from a racially charged incident in the school parking lot in March, in which charges are pending against three students, and another incident last month where a student was seen displaying a Confederate flag outside the school.
Follansbee said at the time the student displaying the flag would face "appropriate disciplinary action." It was unclear what form that disciplinary action took, or if the student with the flag was the same as the one wearing the Confederate flag sweatshirt.
Follansbee and other school officials recently consulted with a school department attorney, an attorney for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, and attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union on the sweatshirt issue.
The superintendent announced plans to host a public forum in collaboration with the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Department of Justice in Springfield. In addition, she said, lawyers with the ACLU of Massachusetts offered to conduct a day-long teach-in at Easthampton High School.
Dress codes in student handbooks may not be used to deny students freedom of speech, Follansbee wrote.
City and school officials met with DOJ lawyers
"The mayor, chief of police, EHS administrators and I participated in a meeting with attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice, Springfield office, and together we developed a plan for attorneys from their Civil Rights Unit to do a forum for Easthampton community members," Follansbee wrote in her Friday parent newsletter.
"I contacted the Boston office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and was referred to a local attorney who does ACLU work. He responded immediately to my request for assistance and has offered to organize a teach-in at our high school where he and his colleagues will come for a day to teach lessons on civil rights in our classrooms."
Racial tensions at the school came to the forefront March 29 after three students of color allegedly surrounded and punched a white student who had sent a racial slur via social media to a former girlfriend, according to police. The three students were arrested, and one of them, Joshua R. Brown, faces charges in Northampton District Court. The alleged victim is the son of a police officer who works in the school.
The incident prompted a mass student walkout and passionate discussion at School Committee meetings. Some parents called for the ouster of high school Principal Kevin Burke and for the removal of School Resource Officer Alan Schadel.
The schools have since hired the Collaborative for Education Services to work with the district to help transform school culture.
"Our mission in our public schools is to educate, and with this in mind, I have taken the following steps to provide educational experiences for our administrators, students, teachers, staff, parents and community members," Follansbee wrote to parents.
Student free speech protections strong in Massachusetts
Massachusetts students enjoy some of the strongest free speech protections in the country, according to the ACLU.
In 1996, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held in Pyle v. South Hadley School Committee that state law protects student rights as long as their expression is not disruptive to the educational process. In that case, a student had worn a "Co-ed Naked Band Do It In Rhythm" T-shirt to school, and school officials maintained the slogan was lewd.
"The students' rights include expression of views through speech and symbols without limitation," Chief Justice Paul Liacos wrote. "There is no room in the statute to construe an exception for arguably vulgar, lewd or offensive language absent showing of a disruption within the school."
The Massachusetts statute referenced in Pyle is the Student Free Expression Act.
"The right of students to freedom of expression in the public schools of the commonwealth shall not be abridged, provided that such right shall not cause any disruption or disorder within the school," the law reads.
The act covers the "rights and responsibilities of students, collectively and individually" to express their views through speech and symbols, to "write, publish and disseminate their views," and to assemble peaceably on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of speech. A landmark case concerning free speech in public schools was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in Tinker v. DeMoines Independent School District.
The 1969 decision considered the case of students who wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The court ruled that "undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression."