So Im a senior and I’m 18 years old and today I got suspended because of a shirt “do it yourself” here’s a link http://www.karmaloop.com/vendor/IMK/zoom/10sm12-whtzoom1.jpg
well I was wearing this shirt today and they pull me in the office and the principal went nuts like she was screaming at me like if I kill a person and I tried to explain that it’s just a shirt and their was nothing wrong with it but she keep saying that it was sooo offensive to her and she forced me to take of my shirt and put on a cheap 2 dollar shirt and after that she suspends me for the rest of the day and I ask why and she said that everyone that looked at my shirt I was offending them and I was ok well can I have my shirt back and she kept it cause she said it was pornography and offensive and I asked again and again for my shirt and she said she Confiscated my shirt cause it was pornography and my question is … Am I in violation of my rights and what can I do to get my shirt back all I want is my shirt back … I paid for it with my own money and I want my property back … What can I do or say??? Is she in violation of my rights?? I really dint think it was offensive I just kept getting compliments on the shirt saying ohh I like your shirt and they were all girls so please some help !!
Y’know, school is as much about learning to relate to people as it is learning facts…
Paragraphs are our friends, you know?
…and grammar, coherent writing, presenting and supporting a thesis…
However, at 18 you should be adult enough to realize that that shirt is going to offend a lot of folks. And without impugning your motives, I suspect that’s why you wore it. You got the reaction you were after, congratulations!
And, since this is GQ and you asked a question: No, to the best of my knowledge, a principal confiscating items in violation of school policy is not violating your rights, at least in a US legal sense. I strongly suspect that the school handbook explicitly allows it; almost all of them do these days.
I’m sure the parents are quite proud.
But now I have a question. how much authority does a school handbook wield? i realize a private school would have more oomph because it’s a private school and one is choosing to utilize it, whereas with a public school there’s an element of one has to go to school and has no choice in the matter. So can the school handbook blithely declare something to be kosher or is this act something that could be tested by the courts?
after looking at the clothing line associated with that shirt…
all I can say is…
…still not king…
D&R to avoid the hail of gangsta cap bustin’ comin my way.
I don’t know what “rights” you have in this situation. You have to abide by the student code of conduct. The shirt was a distraction in school and it got taken up. Big surprise, really?
Look in your student handbook to see what they policy is for confiscated items. You might have to wait until the end of the term to get your shirt back.
You’re 18 and an adult and should be able to handle your own affairs. Calmly and politely ask for the shirt back when you get back to school, explain you won’t wear it there again, and apologize for the distraction.
I am not a lawyer, but I would seriously question a school officials ability to confiscate property from an adult Offensive or not, it is your shirt, and it was stolen from you. Now, depending on how much interest you have in staying enrolled in this school, you might want to consider reporting this to the police or the DA.
Yeah, I was thinking about this while typing my first post…
I suppose if someone had some of my property and would not return it I would file a police report for theft. This wasn’t really theft to begin with, though, and it being in (public?) school compounds the issue.
But I don’t see why the principal should be able to keep the shirt forever, because it is legally his. He has to follow rules and so does the principal.
Your should be an adult. But you are also a student in a school. That shirt is probably against Calif Ed code and could get you in big trouble with the school.
But be glad you are or were in school. If you were wearing that shirt on a job it could get you terminated for sexual harassment. Yes you would get to keep your shirt but you would be out on the street.
Schools can adopt codes of conduct which prescribe that certain items (which would otherwise be lawful) are contraband, and they can adopt sanctions for breach of the code which include permanent confiscation of the contraband item. (Unless state law makes some other provision, of course.)
It’s reasonable to deem Chillafrilla’s teeshirt to be offensive.
So the questions Chillafrilla needs to look at are (a) does his school have an established policy under which an offensive t-shirt is contraband, and can be confiscated? And (b) is there any overriding state law which would act to nullify this provision?
Wait I can define things as contraband too, but if I try to take and keep my guest’s wallets the cops show up. What am I doing wrong?
IANALawyer
There are two entirely different issues her, IMO. One is the school’s right to suspend you and send you home for violation of a dress code or some other code of conduct. I wouldn’t venture an opinion without reading their codes, but I’m pretty sure that if they had competent people writing up their codes, they were likely within their rights to suspend you.
Keeping your shirt is another question, and I hope a real lawyer shows up, but I’ve never heard that shool official have the right to permanently confiscate any property.
I don’t think you’re in a position, yet, to call the cops. I think the school could argue that it was within its power to – I dunno, prevent an ongoing offense? – on school property.
When you go back to school, wear a shirt that is not going to push your principal’s buttons, and bring along the cheap shirt that you got from her. Tell her you are returning her shirt, and you want yours back. Explain that, since you are wearing a “normal” shirt, you don’t intend to put the confiscated one back on while you’re still at school.
If at that point she refuses, explain that you want to use the phone to call the police and add them to the conversation.
Here is an article that seems relevant. In this case a school confiscated a student’s cell phone – for a limited time period. It did get to a court, which upheld the right to confiscate for a limited and reasonable time period.
Eventually, you should get your shirt back. How soon? Dunno.
You have carelessly omitted to turn yourself into a public school and so bring yourself within the scope of your state’s education code and the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on the powers of schools and the rights of students.
For example, the Texas Education Code (picked entirely at random; I have no idea what state you or Chillafrilla live in) provides in sec. 37.001 for school district trustees to adopt a “student code of conduct . . establishing standards for student conduct”. There is explicit provision in s. 37.082 (dealing with paging devices) for the confiscation of paging devices, and for their disposal “in any reasonable manner”. There’s nothing in s. 37.082 to suggest that it’s an exhaustive statement of the districts powers of confiscation, but I haven’t read through the entire Code to see what other rights they may have. Nor have I looked at the codes of other states.
Schools have codes of conduct because the Supreme Court requires it; students are entitled to know what the rules are and what the sanctions are, and the codes must prescribe proper procedures for imposing disciplinary measures (including confiscation of property). In addition, of course, the school or district writing the code of conduct has to be properly authorised to do so, and any provision of the code which conflicts with state or federal law will be invalid.
But there’s nothing inherent which says that all code provisions allowing for confiscation of contraband are invalide or unlawful. The Constitution only protects against unreasonable seizure, or seizure without due process, equal protection, etc. Assuming this seizure is in accordance with the school code of conduct, and is not contrary to state law, Chillafrilla can take this to the Supreme Court arguing that it is unreasonable or that the code does not afford him due process, or he can buy himself a new shirt.
While you do qualify your statement, you still provide a false choice. You can often get your confiscated property back without involving the legal system at all. My experience is that getting parents involved often is sufficient if the confiscator will not return the item.
I would be interested in knowing how well the “distracting” concept is supported in regards to the first amendment, though. I know that my former school’s dress codes have gotten more and more lax, and yet neither the relative number nor the quality of graduates has decreased.
You are not acting in loco parentis when you have guests over to you house.
This is a joke, right?
I’m thinking spam.