The case triggered by a California high school assistant principal who ordered students to either go home or turn their American flag shirts inside out so as not to offend Mexican students celebrating Cinco de Mayo may reach the Supreme Court,
The Los Angeles Times reported.
Miguel Rodriguez, the assistant principal at Live Oak High School near San Jose, feared that the sight of the American flag shirts worn on the May 5 holiday celebrating Mexican heritage in the United States could spur violence.
A federal appeals court agreed with a district court judge, who had ruled that the school was justified in deciding that the imperative to avoid violence superseded the students' right to freedom of expression, the Times reported.
In his dissenting opinion, federal appeals court Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain implied that since there was nothing inherently offensive about wearing an American flag, school authorities appeared to have caved in to intimidation.
The courts have generally allowed students to enjoy constitutional free speech protections in attire as long as they don't cross a line that
might set off "substantial disruption."
The nation's highest court could decide as early as this week whether to hear the California case,
Dariano vs. Morgan Hill Unified School District. The justices would be asked to decide whether the right of students to express their political or social views may be restricted because of fears of how other students might react.
On May 5, 2010, a number of students at Live Oak High School wore American flags emblazoned on their shirts while students of Mexican heritage were marking their holiday.
The previous year, Mexican students paraded on campus with a Mexican flag. Some students responded with chants of "USA! USA!" There have been some 30 violent confrontations on campus ignited by racial tensions, the Times reported.
The students opted to leave after Rodriguez instructed them to wear their shirts inside out or go home, according to the Times.
"This is heartbreaking to the students and parents who see the flag as a symbol of national unity," attorney William Becker, representing the families of the flag-wearing students told the Times.
"It rewards those who believe the flag is a symbol of hostility toward minorities. If they think there is a problem, then don't hold a Cinco de Mayo celebration."
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