Overview:
The Bow School District has denied a group of parents' request to stage a silent wristband protest against transgender athletes on school grounds, citing concerns that the demonstration amounts to "targeting and intimidation" of students. The parents have appealed the decision, arguing that it violates their free speech rights, but the district maintains that the protest is not protected under the First Amendment. The case has sparked a debate over the limits of free speech in schools and the rights of transgender students.
The Bow School District is standing firm on its decision to block a group of parents from staging a silent wristband protest against transgender athletes on school grounds, arguing that the demonstration amounts to “targeting and intimidation” of students.
The group of Bow parents has appealed a federal judge’s denial of their request for a preliminary injunction, seeking to exercise their free speech rights by silently protesting during school games.
In a 60-page brief filed Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, Jonathan Shirley, the school district’s attorney, argued that the group of parents “do not have an unbounded right to engage in speech at school-sponsored events” and maintained that the district’s judgment was reasonable.
“Our clients silently wore small pink ‘XX’ wristbands to support women’s sports. The school district continues to mischaracterize this peaceful, silent protest as ‘targeting and intimidation.'” – Del Kolde, attorney from the Institute for Free Speech
The pink wristbands worn during a high school soccer game last fall were emblazoned with “XX” symbols, representing the sex chromosomes assigned to females at birth.
Del Kolde, an attorney from the Institute for Free Speech representing the parents, pushed back.
“Our clients silently wore small pink ‘XX’ wristbands to support women’s sports. The school district continues to mischaracterize this peaceful, silent protest as ‘targeting and intimidation,’” he said in a statement to the Monitor.
Kolde also accused the school district of engaging in viewpoint discrimination, noting that the First Amendment protects their right to protest, especially given that the district allows displays of Pride symbols on campus.
The school district, however, argued in its filing that comparisons between the “XX” wristbands and Pride flags or political campaigns are “false equivalents.”
The wristbands with the “XX” symbol were interpreted as intended to single out and harass particular students or groups during a school-sponsored event, according to the district, a distinction they say sets it apart from more general expressions of social or political beliefs.
The case stems from a lawsuit brought last fall against the Bow School District and Superintendent Marcy Kelley by parents Anthony Foote and Kyle Fellers, who said their rights were violated when the district issued no-trespass orders after they wore the pink wristbands to a girls’ soccer game in September at Bow High School. A transgender athlete from Plymouth Regional High School was playing at Bow High School during the game.
Before a final judgment in the case, the parents asked the court to allow them to continue wearing the wristbands during the spring sports season.
Judge Steven McAuliffe denied the request, ruling that the school district could prohibit the display of protest symbols — including the wristbands — at school-sponsored events. The court determined that school grounds and events constitute a “limited public forum,” where officials may regulate speech to meet educational goals.
The court has not decided whether to hear oral arguments on the appeal yet.
