The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio wrote a letter last month criticizing Dublin City Schools for restricting a transgender student's class presentation and protest last year.
Dublin Jerome High School senior Corinne Embi did a final project last year on transgender activism and anti-trans laws for a Women's Studies course.
According to the ACLU, Embi wanted to organize a teach-in after school and ask other students to wear pink, blue and white clothing that mirror the transgender pride flag. Embi later wanted to hand out wristbands that have these same colors, but was prohibited.
This teach-in would have people talk about legislation in Ohio targeting the transgender community and actions people could take in response.
The project had students create an "action plan to support an existing campaign . . . that addresses a current social, political, and/or economic issue facing women in the United States or abroad," according to the ACLU letter.
Despite the teacher giving permission for Embi's project, the ACLU says the school's administration tried to restrict part's of Embi's presentation before canceling all project presentations for the class entirely.
The ACLU letter said Embi got permission to post flyers she made for the protest and sit-in, both set to occur in May of this year, but the school took down the flyers claiming they were approved. The district said Embi couldn't hold the protest, citing district policy for "limiting disruption through demonstration."
The day of the presentation, the ACLU alleges school officials indicated that no student could present their activism project to the class and that this component had been “removed from the project rubric for all students.”
The letter, which the ALCLU published on Aug. 28, urged the district to take all necessary steps to ensure that both the district's policies and schools provide for the full extent of student expression consistent with the U.S. Constitution.
The letter was was addressed to Superintendent Dr. John Marschhausen and members of the Dublin City Schools' Board of Education.
The ACLU hasn't filed a lawsuit against Dublin City Schools, but ACLU of Ohio Senior Staff Attorney Amy Gilbert, the author of the letter, said they will be watching to see how the district responds.
"We think the content of the transgender activism project made them uncomfortable, was a bit controversial and carried out their policies in a way that actually violated (Embi's) constitutional rights," Gilbert said.
Dublin City Schools said in a statement it is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all students and is reviewing its practices and policies.
"We take these concerns seriously and are reviewing our current practices and policies to ensure they align with the law and uphold the rights of every student in our district. Our priority is to foster a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all," the statement said.
Gilbert said the case appears to mirror the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines U.S. Supreme Court case where students in Iowa were prohibited from wearing arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. The case was mentioned at the top of Gilbert's letter.
"The Supreme Court held that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate and students do have freedom of expression and speech and the school may not restrict that speech unless it substantially interferes with the operation of the school," Gilbert said.
There are restrictions set out by this case, which limit restrictions to narrow bounds of lewd, harassing or drug-promoting speech. The ACLU said none of these were at issue and the school presented no evidence that the presentation would cause a substantial disruption or interfere with school activities.
Despite the project being cancelled, the ACLU said in the letter students still showed up wearing the colors of the transgender pride flag. The ACLU pointed out the clothing didn't cause disruption that day.
