A federal appeals court ruled that a Texas school district dress code did not deprive students of the First Amendment rights of expression. A student sued after the school banned his shirt supporting John Edwards for president. -DB

First Amendment Law Prof Blog
August 24, 2009
By Kathleen Bergin

The First Amendment doesn’t prohibit a dress code that prohibits The ‘First Amendment’. So said a three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit this month in Palmer v. Waxahachie Indep. School District.

The dress code prohibited students from wearing clothing with printed messages, but made an exception for school-sponsored organizations and athletic teams.  It also allowed students to wear printed messages on pins, buttons and wrist bands.

Palmer first ran into trouble when he changed into a “John Edwards for President” t-shirt after being told that he couldn’t wear a “San Diego” t-shirt to class.  The school also said that he couldn’t wear a t-shirt bearing the words “First Amendment” on the front, and the text of the Amendment on the back.

The appeals court declined to enter a preliminary injunction, finding that the dress code was a content-neutral measure that did not suppress unpopular views.  That school officials chose to accommodate team uniforms and personal accessories did not, in the court’s view, create a content-based restriction.  Those exceptions instead gave students more clothing options than they would have under a complete ban.

The court noted the irony that in focusing on the effect of the exceptions allowed under the policy, Palmer was actually arguing that school officials would be on safer First Amendment grounds if they banned all means of expression as opposed to just some.

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