The American Civil Liberties of Tennessee settled with the Giles County schools over censorship of a shirt supporting equal rights for lesbians and gays worn by a then Richland High School student. The county school board has since changed its dress code policy. (WBRC Fox 6 News, August 16, 2016, by Holly Thompson)
The principal told the student she could not wear read the shirt with the statement, “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It,” since it could rile other students and subject her to violence and harassment. The ACLU-TN contended that the policy was a content-based restriction on one type of speech violating students’ free speech rights. The federal district court ordered an end to the censorship with the comment, ““student expression on LGBT issues is speech on a purely political topic, which falls clearly within the ambit of the First Amendment’s protection.” (ACLU, August 15, 2016, press release)