Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal over Middleborough student's ‘two genders' shirt
The student, identified in court papers only as L.M., said Middleborough Public Schools was taking sides on a hotly debated issue while barring students from voicing different views. He and his parents said the school district posts signs backing LGBTQ rights and encourages students to don rainbow colors to celebrate Pride Month.
Liam Morrison.
Alliance Defending Freedom
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The 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals 'takes the remarkable position that a school may flood its halls with its views on a matter of public concern — here, gender identity — and encourage students to join in, then bar students from responding with different views,' the family argued.
The school district urged the court not to hear the case, saying the principal, Heather Tucker, reasonably took into account the mental health struggles of transgender and gender-nonconforming youths and her experience working with students who were bullied because of their gender identity.
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Under past Supreme Court decisions, 'a public school must be able to restrict some student speech to protect its students and ensure a learning environment in which all students can flourish,' Middleborough argued.
The dispute took place in 2023, when L.M. was a seventh grader at Nichols Middle School. After he arrived at school wearing the shirt, Tucker pulled him from class and told him he couldn't return unless he took it off. When L.M. declined, the principal called his father, who took L.M. home.
L.M. later tried to wear the same shirt with a piece of tape over the words 'only two' and 'censored' written on top. L.M. removed that shirt after he was confronted by school officials. He wasn't disciplined for either incident.
The case is L.M. v. Middleborough, 24-410.
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