Bill Foster V
Bill Foster V
Bill Foster V
Allison Scott
Edu 210
Dr. Warby
Bill Foster was a high school student in the northeastern united states. He filed a lawsuit
after being suspended for wearing an earring. The school had recently implemented a policy
against gang related items. These included armbands, earrings, jewelry, emblems and athletic
caps. Foster only wore the earring because he thought it would attract more females. He was
For this case we can argue for or against Foster and his actions. To support Foster in his
lawsuit, we have the of Tinker v Des Moines Independent School District case. In this case, three
students chose to wear black arm bands in protest of the Vietnam war. The three students were
then suspended for wearing the arm bands and the students decided to take the issue to court. The
court ruled in favor of the students, stating that the suspensions were in violation of their
Another case we can examine to support Bill Foster would be the Chalifoux v. New
Caney Independent School District case. In this case, two students wore plastic rosaries to
represent their religious faith. At their school, they were prohibited from wearing any gang
affiliated materials. The principal found the rosaries to be gang wear and prohibited them from
being worn in school. In this case, the court ruled in favor of the students, stating that the terms
for gang attire were not properly defined and the students could not be held accountable and that
To argue against Foster, we have the Botoff v Van Wert City Board of Education case.
Here we have a school that has prohibited wearing any apparel by the Marilyn Manson band,
saying that the band represents and supports ideas that contradict those of the school. When a
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student wore a profane t-shirt, the principal sent him home, stating that it was inappropriate and
disruptive. The court agreed saying that “a school may prohibit a student from wearing a shirt
that is offensive, but not obscene on school grounds even if the shirt has not been shown to cause
a substantial disruption of the academic program”. Therefore, Bill Fosters earring could have
been considered offensive and the school could have had a right to suspend him.
Another case to support the school would be the case of West v Derby Unified School
District. In this case, the court ruled that a student had been properly suspended after drawing a
confederate flag in a classroom. Among items listed on their policy against racial harassment and
intimidation was the confederate flag. Given that the student was capable of knowing and
understanding the school’s rules and policies, the court ruled in favor of the school.
As for Bill Foster, he should have known and understood the rules that were put in place.
Students are responsible for knowing and respecting the rules. Fosters decision to wear and
earring, weather it was gang affiliated or not, should have been more though out and stopped
before consequences had to be implemented. I believe that the school had the right to suspend
Foster, given that the parameters for gang attire was clearly given, the student should have been
more responsible for knowing the rules and policies upheld by his own school.