The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to get involved in a Pennsylvania case over whether students can wear a bracelet saying “I (heart) Boobies!” as part of a breast cancer awareness campaign.
By refusing to consider the case, the nation’s top court left in place a lower appeals court decision striking down a ban on the bracelets imposed by Easton Area School District, which argued that the bracelets were lewd.
“The First Amendment protects schools as a space where students are free to discuss important issues like breast cancer and talk about their bodies in positive terms,” stated Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which represented the students. “The court’s decision today is an important reminder to school administrators that they can’t punish students for speaking out just because their speech might be uncomfortable or misunderstood.”
