On Thursday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco was presented with a case questioning whether the rights of three teenagers were violated after they were barred from their high school for wearing American flag t-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.
A lawsuit filed by the parents of the teens alleges that the California high school violated their childrens' First Amendment rights by telling them not to wear American flag t-shirts on the Mexican heritage holiday.
The incident occurred in 2010 when the Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill was struggling with racial tensions and gang troubles. The students were given an ultimatum by school officials to either turn their shirts inside out or go home after other students warned administrators that the flag T-shirts could be incendiary, reports the LA Times.
The students opted to go home. However, their parents sued the school, arguing that their sons were simply expressing their love for their country and were not trying to denigrate the Mexican heritage of other students.
In December 2011, a lower court tossed out the students' lawsuit, ruling that school administrators have wide legal latitude to protect student safety. The judge noted that "our Constitution grants public school children only limited First Amendment rights when they enter the schoolhouse gates," while conceding this particular case has landed in "important legal territory," reports the AP.
But the students appealed, arguing their free speech rights were violated. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeal was scheduled to hear arguments in the case Thursday but a ruling is not expected for months.