lawsuit in school

Did anyone see the lawsuit goin on MSNBC this afternoon? A lesbian high school senior is suing her school because they won't let her wear a suit (guy's suit) for her high school graduation picture! I'll try to find the link on msnbc.com I guess supposedly she is mentioned nowhere in her yearbook because of that. I don't see how she could win a lawsuite like that, do you?

I don't know about winning a law suit, but how can they tell her what to wear?? I mean, shouldn't she be able to wear whatever she wants, barring that it is not too revealing etc?

Seems weird to me.

Schools have policies, like dress codes, so I think they can tell her what to wear? I think she's filing a civil rights-type of lawsuit. I think it's just stupid to even sue a school over something like that..... I mean, how hard is it to dress up in something nice once for a picture!?

If she were to win this suit, no public school would be able to enforce a dress code without the possibility of legal action. The girl's request probably seems reasonable to her, but a precedent would be set for future law suits. The wedge theory (or "foot in the door") has proved again and again to be true. It would take years, but the schools might eventually be facing students who would insist that it was their right to attend school in underwear! I don't think we would ever have to worry about nudity, because of hygenic reasons.

Well, we recently had some senior girls take legal action to change a school board policy requiring girls to specifically wear dresses or skirts under their graduation gowns. The schools changed the policy and allowed the girls to wear slacks. Then there was the guy that wanted to wear a gown to the homecoming dance or something. Don't remember how that one turned out. You would be amazed, though. In cases involving school law, the courts often find in favor of the students.

I attended a Christian college immediately after high school At that time the girls had to wear skirts or dresses, pantyhose, and dress shoes. There was some sort of rebellion about 10 years later. When I went back in the 80's, everyone wore slacks, jeans, or skirts, as they pleased. The school couldn't afford the bad publicity. Of course, at Community College the students often wear shorts. The difference, I believe, is that college students are adults. High school people are at a rebellious stage, but they have to learn that conforming is necessary in certain circumstances, such as getting a particular job. Otherwise, we might have police officers in cut offs with nose rings. I strongly believe in the right of the individual, but the individual must be willing to sacrifice certain privileges if she refuses to conform to society's standards. Backing down on a dress code is not like backing down on your principles, for which one should be willing to die.

At our school, they never told us what we could and couldn't wear for our graduation pictures...we were the ones paying for them, for pete's sakes, and unless it showed nudity or something, I don't see a problem with it. But I guess some schools are different. I think it is pretty much pointless for her to sue them, though.

I may be wrong but if she sues the school doesn't that money come from the school's budget?

I guess it depends on whether it's a public or private school. We have a uniform dress code for our students. I have heard that we can ask them to change, but if we send them home for violating the code, the school could be in trouble. That is, if the parents get upset and consult a lawyer. I don't think a school should be able to tell a student not to wear something, as long as it is appropriate and not too revealing or x rated. Or advocating drugs, etc.

Although I do believe that young teens have to be taught that different types of clothing are appropriate in certain situations, I really don't feel strongly one way or the other about the young lady in question. I have been playing devil's advocate.
However, my last teaching position was at a Christian school. There was a strict dress code, the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer before each class, respect for the teachers and guest speakers. Many of our students were not strong Christians; we had one Hindu family. These families wanted the atmosphere of a Christian school.

Having taught in the public schools also, I can compare the two. I don't know which of the above rules would be individually responsible for the wonderful atmosphere we had, but it was certainly different. Not only were we permitted to teach moral standards, we were expected to. These kids weren't perfect; they squabbled a bit, the little ones wiggled in their chairs and "touched their noses" without tissues, tattled on each other, etc. The junior high girls had cliques and copped attitudes. Nevertheless, there was an air of respect and a dedication to purpose that is sometimes found only in the best students in public schools. The difference? I believe it's because the students know that the principal and parents will stand by the teacher if she reprimands a student, that and everything mentioned in the first paragraph--not one thing, but a combination of all.
No, these kids are not naive. They know what the rest of the world is like; they live in it! I think they have a better chance to be good citizens. The Christian school standards today are the public school standards of yesterday. (with the exception of New Testament teaching)

Originally posted by BadHabit
I may be wrong but if she sues the school doesn't that money come from the school's budget?

Click to expand...

If someone is suing the school, they are usually suing the actual school district. Believe me, there is no public schoool that has enough $ to be useful in any lawsuit. Depending upon the nature of the actual lawsuit, a teacher or an administrator may be sued in a case involving something like negligence. In most districts, the legal department stands behind the teacher or the administrator if it believes that there has been no wrongdoing. Teachers' unions also provide legal protection and representation for their members.

I guess the whole thing with this lawsuit, is that she wants to be able to wear what she normally wears, and that's boys clothing...... If I remember correctly, the girls had to wear a drape-type top (i cant remember the name of it) and the boys had to wear a suit. Darn, I wonder why it's not on msnbc.com yet?? I know that in my yearbook, everyone wore dresses, suits, or something nice for the senior yearbook part. It's crazy how people sue over the stupidest things.

It was just like that big controvery over girls wearing thongs under their dresses at the high school dances, because teachers thought it was too racy to wear something like that under their dresses.

Ok Deb, thanks for clearing that up.

They tried to control what kind of underwear they wore? can they do that?????

Our dresscode policy says that they can't wear anything deemed "disruptive". That leaves a pretty broad interpretation. We had a teacher this past year who was asked not to wear thong underwear anymore, among a few other things. How did this become an issue? Well, what she was wearing over it made it abundantly clear what she was wearing under it.

well thats a pleasant mental image

We aim to please! Who says the net is an impersonal form of communication?

I might make some people mad here, but it sounds to me like it is a statement. Another case of an in-your-face homosexual. Like I said in the post about the show on Nickelodeon, it is not my business if someone is homosexual, but I don't want to hear about it. I also don't want to hear details about heterosexual sex lives.

krazy kat2,
I would have to agree with you!

We had a story in Toronto about a gay Catholic school student who wanted to bring his boyfriend to the prom and he was told it goes against school policy. He ended up taking them to court and he won based on the fact they were infringing on his human rights. It caused quite the brouhaha here.