K. B., a 12-year-old Hutchinson, Minn., middle-schooler, is in trouble with his principal and one of his teachers after he wore pro-life T-shirts to school every day in April.
Brian Rooney, an attorney and spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center, is suing the school, alleging viewpoint discrimination.
“Every day, his teacher and his principal harassed him, threatened him with suspension, told him to turn the shirt inside out, told him to take the shirt off, told him to go home — all in front of his fellow classmates," Rooney said.
K.B. rotated through three shirts that read: "Abortion — growing, growing, gone"; "What part of abortion don’t you understand?"; and Never known — not forgotten."
School policy allows messages on clothes, as long as they aren’t lewd, pornographic or disruptive.
“The school is saying that it was disruptive, but the only one that made it disruptive was the principal and one teacher," Rooney said.
Jeremy Tedesco, litigation counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said it's important students stand up for their First Amendment rights.
“Schools every day engage in value-based education, and lots of times Christian parents realize that the values being taught are not in accordance with their religious beliefs," he said. "Students need to stand up for their rights when they are discriminated against by the schools.”
