School Climate & Safety

Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That Gives Schools Right To Restrict T-Shirts

By Mark Walsh — March 28, 2001 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear the appeal of a high school student who was barred from wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts to school.

The justices declined without comment to hear the appeal of Nicolas J. Boroff, who was a 17-year-old senior at Van Wert High School in Ohio in 1997 when he got into trouble for wearing T-shirts of the Gothic rock group, whose lead singer also performs under the name Marilyn Manson.

The high court’s action in Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education (Case No. 00-1020) is not a ruling on the merits of the case. But it leaves in place a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education) in Cincinnati, that strongly backs the right of public school administrators to prohibit clothing they deem objectionable. The 6th Circuit covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Mr. Boroff’s appeal argued that Van Wert High administrators had allowed students to wear T-shirts for such heavy-metal groups as Slayer and Megadeth. But when Mr. Boroff showed up in a Marilyn Manson shirt, he was told to remove it, turn it inside out, or go home.

The shirt depicted a three-face image of Jesus Christ with the statement: “See No Truth. Hear No Truth. Speak No Truth.” On the back was the word “believe,” with the letters “lie” standing out in a different color.

Mr. Boroff returned to school three more days wearing different Marilyn Manson T-shirts, and was sent home each time. His mother filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Toledo claiming that the school’s actions had violated her son’s First Amendment right of free speech. Mr. Boroff never returned to Van Wert High.

Religious Mockery?

The Boroffs lost in the district court and the 6th Circuit court. A panel of the appellate court ruled 2-1 last year that the school had the authority to prohibit T-shirts that “contain symbols and words that promote values that are so patently contrary to the school’s educational mission.”

The appellate court described the appearance of the lead singer, Brian Warner, as “ghoulish and creepy,” and it cited interviews in which he appeared to have admitted using illegal drugs.

“The record demonstrates that the school prohibited Boroff’s Marilyn Manson T-shirts generally because this particular rock group promotes disruptive and demoralizing values, which are inconsistent with and counterproductive to education,” the 6th Circuit majority said.

The dissenting judge said it appeared from the evidence that the principal of Van Wert High, William Clifton, had barred the Jesus shirt because it mocked a religious figure. The principal’s action could be “viewpoint discrimination,” which the First Amendment prohibits, the judge said.

“From Principal Clifton’s explanation, it would not be unreasonable to presume that if the T- shirt had depicted Jesus in a positive light, it would not have been considered offensive,” said U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald L. Gilman.

The judge also said he didn’t find the T-shirts vulgar or offensive under the Supreme Court’s cases on school speech.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 28, 2001 edition of Education Week as Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That Gives Schools Right To Restrict T-Shirts

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Opinion What Do Restorative Practices Look Like in Schools?
Such practices teach students how to resolve disputes amicably, own their actions, and be empathetic and forgiving.
9 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety School Dress Codes Often Target Girls. What Happens When Male Teachers Have to Enforce Them?
Male teachers say the task can put them in a risky and uncomfortable position.
11 min read
Image of articles of clothing on a coat hook outside a school entrance.
Laura Baker/Education Week via Canva
School Climate & Safety Are School Buses Safe? An Expert Explains
A perennial concern is getting new attention.
4 min read
Photo of rescue workers and turned over school bus.
Brandy Taylor / iStock / Getty Images Plus
School Climate & Safety A School Removed Bathroom Mirrors to Keep Students From Making TikToks. Will It Work?
The desperate strategy for keeping students in class illuminates the challenge schools face in competing with social media.
5 min read
Empty blue school bathroom showing the bathroom sinks without mirrors.
iStock/Getty