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I've got a few questions. https://twitter.com/fox8news/status/1300617134570196994
Superintendent's full letter is linked in the story above, but there's also this:
This is a missed opportunity to talk about what's happening in the world, and about how flags and symbols can mean different things to different people. A ban on "political activity" teaches all the wrong things.
Now this. County Commissioner asks for Superintendent's resignation, *not* for the First Amendment issue, but for insufficient support of police. SMH https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/geauga-county/geauga-county-commissioner-calls-for-chardon-superintendent-resignation/95-2ba0ca30-c5af-4210-bbdd-6f2c9dd804d8
Here's my analysis: the school can't ban "political activity" writ large, but may be able to ban particular symbols if they reasonably think it would disrupt (under Tinker). It can probably ban political messaging in officially sponsored school activities (under Hazelwood).
Here's a 2010CA6 case upholding a school district's ban on the confederate flag under Tinker. Since the Chardon controversy involves a football player, on field and in uniform, it's likely to be analyzed under the more restrictive Hazelwood analysis: https://casetext.com/case/defoe-ex-rel-defoe-v-spiva
ICYMI I spoke to the news about this (link below). The story has been updated with a statement from the district saying the policy applies only to speech "sanctioned by the school district," and that it applied the policy to a BLM sign as well: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-geauga/chardon-local-schools-bans-thin-blue-line-flag-after-football-player-carries-it-on-field
A brief follow-up on this story, where the district has gone from "no political activity in the school district" to a "free speech zone" on the lawn of the high school. Smh https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-geauga/blm-cancels-chardon-rally-police-create-free-speech-zone-at-school-in-wake-of-cleveland-detectives-death?fbclid=IwAR2NXdjXBjoNRlEbu4xu8MkGC_Sl9XRn42LuMMxpJzQ_OxQCN3KcDFUR_Tk
