An 8th grade student is suing Kendyl Depoali Middle School for violating his First Amendment right to free speech.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday morning in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in Reno, claiming the boy was punished for engaging in "a respectful, silent and peaceful expression of his political views."
The student wore a Firearms Policy Coalition t-shirt, with the words "Don't Tread On Me" and references to the Second Amendment. The shirt did not depict firearms of any kind.
Back in November 2017, the student was disciplined for wearing a Sparks Black Rifile shirt that did depict the silhouette of guns, which is prohibited in the school's dress code.
On March 12, 2018 when the boy wore the FPC shirt, his teacher told him to remove it because she believed it violated the dress code and would be subject to further discipline if he wore it again.
The student is arguing that this was unconstitutional and he was not disrupting the school environment and was not promoting anything illegal or profane.
A copy of the lawsuit can be found below, which includes the student handbook:
