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A Bridgeton High School student's family has sued the school district for forbidding the girl from wearing an arm band and handing out literature as part of an abortion protest.

The student's lawsuit, filed Nov. 12 in U.S. District Court in Camden, accuses the district of censoring her freedom of speech, as granted by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The girl sought in advance to take part in the sixth annual Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity on Oct. 19 by wearing a red armband with the word "Life" on it and passing out literature between classes. The school district has a dress code, however, that calls primarily for black pants or skirts, maroon shirts or gray colors in their place. School officials refused to allow an exception for the arm band.

"It's very simple. We have a very strict dress code," Bridgeton school Superintendent Vic Gilson said Tuesday.

The lawsuit claims high school Principal Lynn Williams said religion has no place in the schools as justification for the denial. Gilson said he had not seen the lawsuit but noted the issue was more a question of political speech than a religious issue.

"Students aren't allowed to pass out partisan literature," Gilson said.

The student's legal representative said that is just semantics.

"The First Amendment protects both religious and political speech, so it doesn't make a difference," said David Cortman, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, which is working on the case.

The ADF last month offered free legal representation to students prohibited from taking part in the protest.

The Bridgeton student has remained anonymous and is referred to only as "C.H." in court papers. Cortman declined to identify her. Ronald Hudak, identified as a friend in court papers, could not be located for comment.

Bridgeton schools initiated a dress code about four years ago. Since then, the district has seen a decrease in discipline problems, Gilson said, stressing that he was not saying that change alone specifically caused the change in behavior.

Part of the reason behind instituting a dress code was that the city has several street gangs, and some are associated with certain colors. Also, school officials generally wanted to remove pressures on students that can come with fashion trends, Gilson said.

Cortman said the arm band was not much of a departure from the district's dress code, noting that the student would have worn her standard uniform with the simple addition of the arm band.

"The teen pregnancies in that county are the highest in the state," Cortman said. "The school even has policies on this. The issue is something that's prevalent in that area, and the school is trying to censor a message of hope."

Contact Daniel Walsh:

856-649-2074

DWalsh@pressofac.com

3 comments:

• joisey (238) posts 7:21 pm

  she should have taken the day off, and paraded around the nearby shopping mall! she could have worn ALL red clothes! she made herself more of an idiot attending school. what these parents get these kids to do. shame shame

• Mr_Glock (232) posts 7:45 am

  And if she wins it will establish an important legal precedent so the Crips, Bloods, & Latin Kings will be able to excercise their "rights" by wearing their colors as armbands that would not be "much of a departure from the district's dress code". A dress code is a dress code....get over it!

• njdlmkr (428) posts 6:37 am

  So ... the parents of "C.H." are teaching their daughter well: If you don't like what's going on ... bring a lawsuit against someone. Great way to live.

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