After two years of litigation, the Bow, New Hampshire, school district has finally admitted that it violated the free speech rights of parents who wore wristbands bearing the letters “XX” to support their daughters during a soccer game.
The controversy arose when a biological male transgender student played on the opposing team. Parents who believe that women’s and girls’ sports should be protected chose to make a silent statement of support for their daughters. Their message was simple: women and girls deserve a level playing field.
They weren’t shouting. They weren’t disrupting the game. They weren’t harassing anyone. They were wearing wristbands expressing a political viewpoint.
Yet school officials attempted to force the parents to remove those wristbands and even sought to have them removed from the soccer game. The parents faced further punishment after the game.
This should never have happened.
The First Amendment does not disappear at a school sporting event simply because school officials disagree with the message being expressed. Parents have a constitutional right to express their views, including views that may be unpopular or controversial. [Related: MACDONALD: Parents Prevail in Pink ‘XX’ Wristband Discrimination Case]
Consider this: If a parent wore a shirt displaying the name of Jesus, would school officials demand that the parent change clothing to avoid offending students raised in Jewish or Muslim households? Would the district consider that expression unacceptable because someone might disagree with it?
The same constitutional principle applies here. The government cannot selectively suppress speech simply because it finds the message uncomfortable or offensive.
What makes this case particularly troubling is that the district spent two years fighting these parents over a constitutional right that should have been readily apparent. Instead of acknowledging the violation and moving on, school officials dragged the parents through years of litigation, wasting time and taxpayer money.
These are public schools. They are entrusted with educating our children about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the fundamental freedoms that define our nation. The First Amendment is not some obscure legal concept. It is one of the most basic rights students should learn to understand and respect.
And yet, the very institution responsible for teaching those principles violated the constitutional rights of the parents who help fund it.
This raises serious questions about accountability in our public institutions.
Who made the decision to restrict these parents’ speech? Who authorized the punishment? Who was responsible for defending the district’s actions for two years? And what consequences, if any, will those individuals face?
When public officials violate citizens’ rights, an admission of wrongdoing should be only the beginning of accountability—not the end.
Why has no one resigned? Why has no one been held responsible? Why do parents so often have to resort to costly litigation to defend their most fundamental rights against the very institutions that are supposed to protect them?
Taxpayers deserve answers. Parents deserve respect. And our public schools should be held to the same constitutional standards they are charged with teaching our children.
The First Amendment belongs to everyone—including parents whose views school officials may not like.
