Holy moly! The ACLU stands up for the right to bear the American flag!

http://nctimes.com/articles/2006/04/..._184_13_06.txt

ACLU demands apology for student in Fallbrook

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer

FALLBROOK ---- The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday called for administrators at Fallbrook High School to apologize to a student who said she was told to stop displaying an American flag on campus two weeks ago.

Fifteen-year-old Malia Fontana said the district violated her right to free speech when it asked her to remove a handkerchief-sized flag that she wore in her back pocket when she went to school on March 31.

Tom Anthony, superintendent of the Fallbrook Union High School District, said he will meet with school officials when they return from spring break Monday morning to discuss the alleged incident. He declined to say whether the district will offer an apology, and said he will know more after talking with school administrators.


At a news conference Thursday in downtown San Diego, representatives of the San Diego & Imperial Counties branch of the ACLU also demanded that Fallbrook High School remove all mention of the incident from Malia's record, and that the school repeal any ban on the display of flags.

"The Supreme Court has been very clear ... that the freedom of speech does not stop at the schoolhouse door," said David Blair-Loy, legal director for the ACLU chapter, citing a 1969 case, Tinker v. Des Moines. "Students have every right to the freedom of speech enjoyed by adults."

Blair-Loy added that "a school may, in limited circumstances, control students' speech ---- but only if there is a substantial disruption or material interference in school activities or other students' rights."

The ACLU faxed its demands to the high school Thursday morning, asking for a response within 10 days, said the group's executive director, Kevin Keenan. He said the organization has not ruled out a lawsuit.

The alleged incident at the high school took place after a week of student protests in Fallbrook and elsewhere in North County. Malia said she wore a flag handkerchief in her back pocket to school that morning in order to make a statement, because one of her friends had allegedly been told by school officials to remove a U.S. flag bandana he had worn the day before.

Elsewhere in North County, Oceanside Unified School District Superintendent Ken Noonan had sent home a letter to parents telling them of a temporary ban on flags on campuses.

In Fallbrook, no such ban had been enacted, but Malia says she was approached by a security guard that day at lunch and was told to put away the flag that was dangling from her pocket. The quiet sophomore refused, and was escorted to an assistant principal's office.

"I knew I didn't do anything wrong, and I felt that my First Amendment rights had been violated," Malia said Thursday, adding that the school had not told the student body not to wear flags. "There was no announcement. They just went up to individuals and asked them to put (their flags) away."

Anthony, the superintendent of the Fallbrook high school district, said Thursday that he remembers the campus being calm and peaceful during the week in question.

"The only thing that's disturbing to me is the perception that we have a ban on flags, and we don't," he said. "I saw many flags on campus, and I was there every day. From what I saw, everyone was very cooperative.

"In this community, everyone is so patriotic. I would never think about putting a ban on flags," he added.

Anthony said he could not find the report filed by the security guard in Malia's file, and that he needed to find out more about the incident before he could comment on the ACLU's demands.

ACLU legal director Blair-Loy said the group will closely watch the school district's response.

"Based on what we know now, we're very troubled, and we think there's a good chance the school may well have violated the First Amendment and similar state laws," said Blair-Loy. "We're looking into this very carefully, and we expect the school to step up and comply with the Constitution."

In Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that schools could not prevent students from expressing a point of view just because it was controversial and could cause friction, Blair-Loy said. The decision did allow for schools to step in during certain circumstances, but Malia's case does not appear to meet the criteria, he said.

"The mere fact that a student's speech might be controversial, or might spark disagreement, or might even spark a certain amount of hostility, is not enough to meet this test," he said. "That is what education is about, that is what dialogue is about, that is what free speech is about."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 731-5799 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.