ADAMS, N.Y. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit, then immediately obtained a concession from school district officials who censored a New York high school senior’s pro-life message during the “Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity.” The event, sponsored by Stand True (
www.standtrue.com), is student led and empowers students to educate their classmates about the dangers of abortion.
“Students do not forsake their constitutional rights once they pass through the schoolhouse door,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “The school district, which had rejected our client’s repeated out-of-court efforts to have his rights respected, finally did the right thing once it was served with a lawsuit and agreed to permit what the Constitution requires. We trust that hereafter school officials will continue to acknowledge that pro-life students possess the same rights enjoyed by other individuals and groups on campus.”
On Oct. 24, Scott Fish and other students attempted to communicate a pro-life message to their classmates through the use of message-bearing T-shirts, armbands, leaflets, and symbolic expression. The school principal censored Fish and the other students because their message might make students “uncomfortable” and allegedly violates the so-called “separation of church and state.”
The principal denied Fish his constitutional rights even after repeated meetings wherein Fish petitioned for relief from the censorship. After ADF attorneys filed suit on Fish’s behalf, school officials promptly agreed to permit student speech through pro-life clothing and leafleting outside of class. The court today ratified this agreement.
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in
Fish v. Denny can be read at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/FishComplaint.pdf.
“It’s clear that the principal selectively censored Scott’s speech because it criticized abortion, but officials ultimately made the right call in agreeing to respect their students’ First Amendment rights,” said Bowman. “This case is critical not only for Scott’s rights, but those of all students who wish to convey their opinions to their classmates in a non-disruptive manner.”
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org