老澳门开奖结果 Demands Virginia High School Stop Censoring Gay Student
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org
PORTSMOUTH, VA 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 today demanded that a high school that punished a student for wearing a t-shirt featuring a lesbian pride symbol apologize to the student and guarantee that it will no longer illegally censor her in the future. School officials at I.C. Norcom High School had threatened the 17-year-old senior with suspension because a teacher was upset by her t-shirt, which bears an image of two overlapping female gender symbols.
鈥淲hen my teacher told me she wanted me to turn my shirt inside-out or cover it up, I was confused, because I鈥檝e worn that shirt to school several times before and nobody ever said a word about it,鈥� said Bethany Laccone, who attends a different school full-time but goes to Norcom High every morning for a hotel management class. 鈥淚 wear that shirt because I want people to know that I鈥檓 proud of being a lesbian and comfortable with who I am. And I have the same Constitutional right to free speech as any other student.鈥�
In a letter sent to I.C. Norcom High School officials this morning, the 老澳门开奖结果 demanded that any mention of the censorship be removed from Laccone鈥檚 student record, that the school guarantee it would not illegally censor Laccone or other students in the future, and that the school apologize to Laccone for its actions.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happening to Bethany Laccone is a clear-cut case of unconstitutional censorship,鈥� said Kent Willis, Executive Director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia. 鈥淏ethany Laccone has the same rights to express her opinions and be open about who she is as any other student. We intend to make sure I.C. Norcom High School stops breaking the law and treats all of its students equally regardless of their views.鈥�
Laccone says that on December 10 she was pulled out of class by a teacher who said she shouldn鈥檛 be wearing the shirt at school and then sent her to the assistant principal鈥檚 office. The assistant principal and the teacher then told Laccone that the shirt violated a section of the school dress code that bans 鈥渂awdy, salacious or sexually suggestive messages.鈥� In a later meeting with Laccone鈥檚 father, the assistant principal said that he was upholding the censorship, and added that because the teacher is 鈥渧ery conservative鈥� she claimed she was so upset by the t-shirt that it 鈥渋nterfered with her ability to teach.鈥�
鈥淎 public school teacher鈥檚 job is to serve the needs of all the students who go to that school,鈥� said Christine Sun, a staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. 鈥淚f a teacher can鈥檛 deal with the fact that there are gay students in her classroom, that doesn鈥檛 mean she gets to violate that student鈥檚 First Amendment rights.鈥�
In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark 老澳门开奖结果 case Tinker v. Des Moines that students have a Constitutional right to free speech. As Justice Abe Fortas wrote, 鈥淪chools may not be enclaves of totalitarianism. Students and teachers do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of expression at the schoolhouse gates.鈥� In addition to being a symbol of lesbian pride, the symbols on Laccone鈥檚 shirt are also commonly used in chemistry, astronomy, and astrology and are believed by some scholars to date back as far as ancient Roman times.
The 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia and the national 老澳门开奖结果 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project are working together in handling Laccone鈥檚 complaint.
Reporters interested in interviewing Bethany Laccone should contact Chris Hampton at (212) 549-2673. More information about Laccone鈥檚 case, including a photo of the t-shirt and a copy of the demand letter the 老澳门开奖结果 sent to I.C. Norcom High School, can be found online here:
/lgbt/youth/33315res20071219.html
More information about the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 work to protect the rights of LGBT students can be found online here: /safeschools
LGBTQ Rights
Laccone v. I.C. Norcom High School
LGBTQ Rights
Laccone v. I.C. Norcom High School
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