“I Love Boobies!” Bracelets Protected by First Amendment in School, Says Court
Last October we discussed the story of Riverside High School Students Suspended for Wearing “I Love Boobies!” Bracelets”. At Riverside High School in Spokane, Dakota Jewell and Zack Jordan were suspended from High School for two days for refusing to remove their bracelets that read “I Love Boobies!”. In that case, the matter was resolved by a compromise whereby the kids agreed to wear their bracelets inside out. Well, this week, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that students do have a constitutional right to wear the bracelets in a classroom. See the court decision. Apparently the case unfolded when a student wore her bracelet to school in defiance of a ban. During lunch, a cafeteria monitor noticed her bracelets and summoned a security guard. The student agreed to take it off, but the next day, with her mom’s encouragement, she again defied the ban. She was suspended, and she sought a restraining order prohibiting the school from enforcing the ban on the bracelets. Legal precedent allows a school to ban or prohibit “lewd” speech, but the court found that the “I Love Boobies!” bracelets were not lewd in the context in which they were worn.