PHILADELPHIA, PA, Feb 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled Wednesday that Christian students must be allowed to say that homosexuality is a sin and to speak out on other moral issues. The court case arose over an anti-harassment policy at schools in State College, Pennsylvania. David Warren Saxe, a Penn State University assistant professor and member of the state board of education, challenged the policy since Christian children feared “they were likely to be punished under the Policy for speaking out about their religious beliefs, engaging in symbolic activities reflecting those beliefs, and distributing religious literature.”
Judge Samuel A. Alito said the school district went too far when it prohibited harassment based on everything from race and sexual orientation to “other personal characteristics,’’ including clothing, appearance and social skills. The Associated Press reports that the ruling could force hundreds of school districts to reassess their own policies to ensure they comply with the ruling.
According to the ruling, schools may categorically ban “lewd, vulgar or profane language” and may regulate speech to meet a “legitimate pedagogical concern,” but other speech may be limited “only if it would substantially disrupt school operations or interfere with the rights of others.”
See coverage in the Associated Press and MassNews at: https://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010215/us/school_harassment_1.html https://www.massnews.com/marsin.htm