Law & Courts

Pa. ‘Boobies’ Case to Be Heard by Full Appeals Court

By J.D. Malone, The Morning Call, Pa. (MCT) — August 16, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Easton Area School District’s appeal of a federal court ruling to allow “I (heart) Boobies” bracelets to be worn by students at school will heard by the entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

A three-judge panel from the circuit heard arguments in April on the appeal, but an order issued Thursday by Chief Judge Theodore McKee brushed aside the panel’s unpublished opinion and set up a rehearing of the case before the full, 14-judge circuit.

The Easton Area School District asked for a reversal of a lower court’s April 2011 decision that barred the district from disciplining students who wore the bracelets.

The case drew national attention as schools grappled with similar questions over the bracelets, which are sold by the Carlsbad, Calif.-based Keep-a-Breast Foundation. In February, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that school officials were allowed to ban the bracelets, opposite to U.S. District Judge Mary A. McLaughlin’s finding in the Easton Area case.

Easton Area Middle School students Brianna Hawk, who was an eighth-grader, and Kayla Martinez, who was in seventh grade, were suspended in 2010 for wearing “I (heart) Boobies!” bracelets.

The students’ attorney, Mary Catherine Roper, of the ACLU, said the court’s decision to hear the case before the full host of judges means there was some disagreement over the three-judge panel’s opinion.

The panel’s opinions are circulated among the circuit’s judges, Roper said, who vote to agree or disagree with it. She said more than half must disagree to push the case in front of the entire circuit, or en banc.

“You never expect an en banc hearing,” Roper said. “What it means is, there is disagreement among the judges.”

John Freund, the school district’s attorney, was not immediately available for comment.

Roper said the court will review the case and may order new briefs from attorneys, but cannot take new testimony or evidence. The court may also choose to hear oral argument, but does not have to. Roper expects the court to ask for argument though.

The lower court’s ruling allowing the bracelets stands until a higher court overrules it.

“We still have that win,” Roper said. “The bracelets are still allowed in the school right now, and that will be the situation until the court says something else.”

Copyright (c) 2012, The Morning Call, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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

Law & Courts Oklahoma Nonbinary Student's Death Shines a Light on Families' Legal Recourse for Bullying
Students facing bullying and harassment from their peers face legal roadblocks in suing districts, but settlements appear to be on the rise
11 min read
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school restroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines Case on Selective High School Aiming to Boost Racial Diversity
Some advocates saw the K-12 case as the logical next step after last year's decision against affirmative action in college admissions
7 min read
Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10, 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. A federal appeals court’s ruling in May 2023 about the admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to flesh out the intended scope of its ruling Thursday, June 29, 2023, banning affirmative action in college admissions.
A group of rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., in August 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 declined to hear a challenge to an admissions plan for the selective high school that was facially race neutral but designed to boost the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts School District Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies Are Piling Up
More than 200 school districts are now suing the major social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.
7 min read
A close up of a statue of the blindfolded lady justice against a light blue background with a ghosted image of a hands holding a cellphone with Facebook "Like" and "Love" icons hovering above it.
iStock/Getty
Law & Courts In 1974, the Supreme Court Recognized English Learners' Rights. The Story Behind That Case
The Lau v. Nichols ruling said students have a right to a "meaningful opportunity" to participate in school, but its legacy is complex.
12 min read
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court William O. Douglas is shown in an undated photo.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, shown in an undated photo, wrote the opinion in <i>Lau</i> v. <i>Nichols</i>, the 1974 decision holding that the San Francisco school system had denied Chinese-speaking schoolchildren a meaningful opportunity to participate in their education.
AP