Student Expression In Schools in 2006

In 2006, there were plenty of cases involving youth and censorship, but most interesting (though not surprising) is the increase in incidents involving social networking sites, blogs, websites and the internet. Thus, it warrants its own page: Visit Student Online Expression in 2006 to view some.

• November 15, 2006 Political Bias Rare at State Colleges (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) HARRISBURG, PA — A statewide policy governing college students’ academic freedom is unnecessary because political bias is rare at Pennsylvania’s public colleges and universities, a bipartisan legislative panel has found.
• September 21, 2006- Kentucky Teacher who burned flags won’t face criminal charges LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Fox News) — A middle school teacher who burned two American flags as part of a civics lesson won’t be charged, but may still face discipline from the school board, officials said Wednesday.
• August 21,2006- Kentucky teacher reassigned after burning 2 flags in class (Dallas News) A middle school teacher who burned two American flags as part of a civics lesson has been removed from the classroom.
• August 13, 2006- The land of the free – but free speech is a rare commodity (Guardian) It used to be said that academic rows were vicious because the stakes were so small. That’s no longer true in America, where a battle is underway on campuses over what can be said about the Middle East and US foreign policy.
• August 1, 2006- A Skeptic on 9/11 Prompts Questions on Academic Freedom Mr. Barrett’s views, which he described on a conservative radio talk show in June, have outraged some Wisconsin legislators and generated a fierce debate about academic freedom on a campus long known as a haven for progressive ideologies and student activism.

Books

• December 21st, 2006 Sexually Explicit Book Under Review By School (Wilson Daily Times)TOISNOT, NC — Parents of a Toisnot Middle School student want a sexually explicit book removed from the school’s library. Their daughter, Maggie, checked out the book, “The Kissing Stars” by Geralyn Dawson right before Thanksgiving.
• December 13th, 2006 Parent Wants ‘Huck Finn’ Pulled from Classes (azfamily.com-KTVK) PEORIA, AZ — A book being used in an American Literature class has a student and his mother so offended that the mother has threatened to file a civil-rights complaint. The mother, Dolores Fisher, alleges racial mistreatment, the segregation of her son and the use of a racial slur in the classroom. The book at the center of the controversy is Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
• November 16, 2006 Parents Want Gay Penguins Book Blocked (Boston Globe) SHILOH, Ill. — A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is getting a chilly reception among some parents in this village who worry about the book’s availability to elementary students — and the reluctance of administrators to restrict access to it.
• October 12, 2006 Library Board Votes to Remove 2 Books (Marshall-Democrat News) SALINE COUNTY, MO—Two novels deemed offensive by some members of the Marshall community will not be available to Marshall Public Library patrons while a new policy is hammered out by Marshall Public Library Board members.
• October 3, 2006- Bible-Reading Student Gets Lesson in Litigation (The Washington Post) Amber Mangum was a frequent reader during lunch breaks at her Prince George’s County middle school, silently soaking up the adventures of Harry Potter and other tales in the spare minutes before afternoon classes. The habit was never viewed as a problem — not, a lawsuit alleges, until the book she was reading was the Bible.
• September 25, 2006- Parents upset over ‘inappropriate’ book in jr. high school library (ABC) The parents of a West Brazos Junior High student are outraged over a book he checked out of the school’s library. Some call it pornography. The school admits there was a mistake and is now taking steps to prevent this from happening again, but for now it means students can’t check out any books.
• September 6, 2006- California Governor Won’t Sign Textbook Bill (AP) A bill passed by state lawmakers would have barred school textbooks from using language that is discriminatory to gays, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused Wednesday sign it.
• August 24, 2006- Gay book pulled off reading list Webster Central School District officials have removed a gay-themed book from a summer reading list for high school students after receiving complaints from parents.
• June 23, 2006 School Bans Dictionary of Slang (Guardian)

LGBT

• August 24, 2006- Gay book pulled off reading list Webster Central School District officials have removed a gay-themed book from a summer reading list for high school students after receiving complaints from parents.
• August 10, 2006- Military Expert Questions West Point’s Reward of Pro-Homosexual Dissent A conservative military watchdog says she intends to question West Point Military Academy officials about why a former cadet was given an award for a thesis objecting to the U.S. military’s ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.
• August 09, 2006- Tinkering with Tinker Standards? (First Amendment Center) Does a public school engage in impermissible viewpoint discrimination by promoting a day of tolerance for gay and lesbian students while silencing a student with different political and religious views on the subject?
• April 20, 2006 – San Diego, CA: Court Enforces School’s Ban of Anti-Gay Shirt (AP)

Media, Art, and Entertainment

• November 26, 2006 Students Expelled Over Movie in Which Teddy Bears Attack Teacher (South Bend Tribune) KNIGHTSTOWN, IN (AP) — Two students are suing to return to school after they were expelled for making a movie in which evil teddy bears attack a teacher.
• 40 Years of Resistance Music “On November 1, This Magazine posted its list of songs reflecting 40 Years of Resistance Music. The list includes “Revolution,” The Beatles (1968); “Give Peace A Chance,” John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band (1969); “Big Yellow Taxi,” Joni Mitchell (1970); “War,” Edwin Starr (1970); “What’s Going On,” Marvin Gaye (1971); “Redemption Song,” Bob Marley & the Wailers (1980); and “Your Revolution,” DJ Vadim with Sarah Jones (1999). Most selections include an accompanying video.”
• October 7, 2006- School District Decides Controversial Play Won’t Be Staged (Evergreen Politics) When the Davis High School drama department settled on “The Laramie Project” as their fall production, the biggest concern was scheduling rehearsals around the busy schedules of the young cast. But last week, when district administrators halted the production amid concerns about community reactions to the controversial play, a whole new set of issues arose.
• August 20, 2006- Painting of Jesus Is Stolen From School, but Legal Fight Goes On A legal battle over a painting of Jesus hanging in a high school here is continuing, even though the painting was stolen last week.
• July 26, 2006- Ad Council Unveils V Chip campaign A series of public-service announcements sponsored by the council and rolled out Wednesday is meant to create awareness of the V-Chip, software that lets parents block violent or sexual content on television.
• July 21, 2006 Kids Kill In Violent Christian Videogame

Political Dissent and Protest

• August 31, 2006- Court Sides With Student In Bush T-Shirt Flap Vermont schoolboy was within his rights to wear a T-shirt depicting George W. Bush as a chicken and accusing him of being a former alcohol and cocaine abuser, an appeals court ruled.
• August 21,2006- Kentucky teacher reassigned after burning 2 flags in class** updated (see above) A middle school teacher who burned two American flags as part of a civics lesson has been removed from the classroom.
• August 2, 2006- Anti-abortion group sues ASU ASU Students for Life, a student group that opposes abortion, is suing the university, saying ASU tried to block the group from expressing its views.
• July 19, 2006 Bill Limits Pledge Rulings to State Courts (NYTimes)
• June 22, 2006 Anti-abortion protestors close to settlement with Colorado school (SPLC)
• June 1, 2006 ACLU Preserves Right of Students Not to Recite Pledge
• April 24, 2006 – NYCLU Lawsuit Challenges DoD’s Unauthorized Military Recruiting of High School Students

Religion

• October 3, 2006- Bible-Reading Student Gets Lesson in Litigation (The Washington Post) Amber Mangum was a frequent reader during lunch breaks at her Prince George’s County middle school, silently soaking up the adventures of Harry Potter and other tales in the spare minutes before afternoon classes. The habit was never viewed as a problem — not, a lawsuit alleges, until the book she was reading was the Bible.
• June 23, 2006 Student’s microphone cut after preaching Christiantiy in graduation speech (SPLC)
• August 09, 2006- Tinkering with Tinker Standards? (First Amendment Center) Does a public school engage in impermissible viewpoint discrimination by promoting a day of tolerance for gay and lesbian students while silencing a student with different political and religious views on the subject?
• April 20, 2006 – San Diego, CA: Court Enforces School’s Ban of Anti-Gay Shirt (AP)

Science

• ASU Students for Life, a student group that opposes abortion, is suing the university, saying ASU tried to block the group from expressing its views.
• July 29, 2006- Evolution’s Backers in Kansas Start Counterattack (NYTimes) God and Charles Darwin are not on the primary ballot in Kansas on Tuesday, but once again a contentious schools election has religion and science at odds in a state that has restaged a three-quarter-century battle over the teaching of evolution.
• June 22, 2006 Anti-abortion protestors close to settlement with Colorado school (SPLC)

Student Press

• November 16, 2006 California High School Journalists Win Free Speech Victory (ACLU) LOS ANGELES — A Kern County judge is expected to issue a court order today that will ensure that Bakersfield high school students are not wrongly censored and that student free speech rights in the Kern School District are preserved.
• October 31, 2006 Student Journalists Deserve an Apology (St. Petersburg Times) Principal William Orr gave his students at Hillsborough High School in Tampa an ugly lesson in censorship. Orr stripped an article from the October edition of Red & Black, the school newspaper, that described the gap in academic performance between white and minority students. Never mind that the figures were compiled by other governmental agencies, that student journalists have broad legal rights to publish or that the data was readily available on the school district’s own Web site.
• October 1, 2006- Censorship 101 (NYTimes) Sometimes justice really does win out, at least partially. Take the case of Karen Bosley, a tenured journalism professor at Ocean County College in New Jersey who has been faculty adviser to the college’s newspaper for 35 years. For most of that time, she was allowed to do her job without interference, and the newspaper won some 70 awards.
• June 5, 2006 Anti-illegal immigration editorial censored (SPLC)
• April 21, 2006 – Wisconsin: Satire magazine avoids censorship by student government (SPLC)

T-shirts and Dress Codes

• December 15th, 2006 Mom of High School Senior Sues Over Rejection of Yearbook Photo (Law.com)PROVIDENCE, RI — The mother of a Providence, R.I., high school senior who posed in chain mail with a medieval sword for his yearbook picture sued after the school rejected the photo because of its “zero tolerance” policy against weapons.
• September 27, 2006- Teens’ T-Shirts Make Educators Squirm Suggestive Messages Challenge Dress Codes.
• August 31, 2006- Court Sides With Student In Bush T-Shirt Flap Vermont schoolboy was within his rights to wear a T-shirt depicting George W. Bush as a chicken and accusing him of being a former alcohol and cocaine abuser, an appeals court ruled.
• April 20, 2006 – San Diego, CA: Court Enforces School’s Ban of Anti-Gay Shirt (AP)