ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — The ACLU says that the St. Tammany Parish School Board will allow two students to wear "Black Lives Matter" face masks, reversing an earlier decision that threatened disciplinary action against them for wearing the masks.
Last December, Aidan and Suriah Wright were told they had to replace their BLM masks by administrators at Pine View Middle School and William Pitcher Junior High, respectively, who said their masks violated the district's dress policy because they "represent a collective or individual protest."
The children's mother, Ebony Wright, told WWL-TV that she hoped the district would reconsider.
"My children are not protesting," said Wright. "Anybody, any skin color, should be able to wear a 'Black Lives Matter' face mask in any atmosphere. We're supporting the symbol of peace, that's what we're expressing and all we've been trying to express."
Then, the ACLU got involved.
The constitutional rights group sent a letter to the district's superintendent asking the school board to reverse the decision.
“Students do not lose their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse doors,” said ACLU of Louisiana senior staff attorney Bruce Hamilton in a statement. “As their mother pointed out to administration officials, the students are not engaging in active protest by wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ masks—but even if they were, school officials cannot constitutionally prohibit non-violent protest.”
According to Meredith Mendez, a spokeswoman for the district, both students accepted alternative masks at the time and did not have any disciplinary action against them.
While the dress code policy prohibits any students from wearing anything associated with a protest, Mendez said district lawyers advised them that the Black Lives Matter movement did not qualify.
"It was determined that Black Lives Matter was considered a movement and not a collective protest," Mendez said. "Students are allowed to wear Black Lives Matter masks."
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