First Amendment Law Prof Blog: Ninth Circuit Upholds Student Dress Code

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May 13, 2008

Ninth Circuit Upholds Student Dress Code

In a 2-1 opinion, the 9th Circuit yesterday rejected a challenge to a Nevada school dress code, concluding that it was a content-neutral regulation that did not violated the students' rights to free expression or religion. The policy requires students to wear khaki colored pants and solid tops, and prohibits any wording or symbols on student clothing other than the student logo. A group of students challenged the dress code after they were suspended for wearing clothing that expressed their religious beliefs.

A key issue in the case was whether the legal standard established in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District,which upheld the right of students to wear black arm bands in protest of the Vietnam War, applied only to symbolic speech or to pure speech as well. Also at issue was whether a policy that allowed students to wear school logos but no other type of logo on their clothing was truly content and viewpoint-neutral. The ACLU says it will seek an en banc hearing.

Shout out to Professor Gowri Ramachandran of Southwestern Law School whose excellent article, Freedom of Dress: State and Private Regulation of Clothing, Hairstyle, Jewelry, Makeup, Tattoos and Piercings, 66 Md. L. Rev. 11 (2006), was cited by the dissent.