Updated – The Somerset Public Schools Elementary Handbook has been updated to read: “Any discussion of weapons (guns/knives/etc.) that results in disruption or disorder in the classroom or in the school building shall be prohibited.”
The National Coalition Against Censorship has written to the school committee of Somerset Public Schools concerning a new school rule, which violates students’ free speech rights. The rule states that “any discussion of weapons (guns/knives/etc.) or making shooting gestures are not acceptable in school; this applies to real or toy weapons.”
This rule goes far beyond the permissible limits on student expression that have been recognized by the Supreme Court. A similar school rule was declared unconstitutional by the Seventh Circuit just last year.