13 year old Suspended Indefinitely from School For Wearing Rosary

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By Michael Carl
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Officials at a New York middle school have decided a rosary could be a symbol of gang activity and have suspended a student for wearing one, but now a legal action is developing that will challenge the school's censorship.

Oneida Middle School officials say their district-wide police in the Schenectady Public School District bans any bandanas or other apparel – including beads – that can be associated with street gangs.

The result? The suspension of 13-year-old middle schooler Raymond Hosier, who chose to wear the rosary as a symbol of his faith and in honor of a deceased brother and uncle.

The American Center for Law and Justice now has confirmed officials have dispatched a letter to the school demanding the school allow the rosary, as protected by the First Amendment, or face a court challenge.

The ACLJ said the school system's dress code is too vague and that just about any clothing accessory could be labeled gang-related.

The dispute started last week when Hosier came to school wearing a rosary, and a principal ordered him to go home.

"A week ago, he was told to either remove the rosary or be sent home. The first day he was sent home. He returned back to school with the rosary, and the school district said he was suspended for two more days.

He said 'Fine, send me home,'" Jordan Sekulow of the ACLJ explained.

"Raymond goes home, the weekend comes and he came to school this week, and when he showed up with his rosary on, they said he was suspended indefinitely," Sekulow said.

Sekulow, the ACLJ's foreign affairs coordinator, said Hosier was just trying to do what he believes he should.

"You know, Raymond decided to take a stand. He's just 13 years old. He decided to take a stand and I don't think many 13-year-olds would be able to take a stand like that," Sekulow said. "He was clearly trying to do something here that his conscience was telling him to do."

"Raymond said he wasn't trying to start something, but the school officials targeted him specifically and came after him because of their policy on gang-related items including bandanas, colors, flags, and beads," Sekulow added.

Sekulow believes that if the issue goes to court as he expects, Hosier's suspension will not be the only issue that will be on trial. Sekulow believes that the district's dress code will also be on trial.

"The federal courts have been very leery of these school dress code policies that ban anything that could be related to gang imagery. If you look at their school policy, it's so broad that they go to the point where they are defining what is gang related," Sekulow added.

"In their definition, they can ban colors, flags, bandanas, and anything with beads. Let me read you the actual policy. Quoting directly, 'A student's dress shall not denote, represent or be deemed to be gang related, including but not limited to, bandanas, colors, flags or beads,'" Sekulow quoted.

"The school told him to take that (the rosary) off because it could be gang related," Sekulow stated.

"He said, 'Listen, I'm doing this for my uncle and my brother. I'm not doing this because I'm a member of a gang. Everyone knows I'm not a member of a gang,'" Sekulow quoted.

The ACLJ attorney added that Hosier had not been in trouble before.

"He's a good student. He's never been in any trouble. He's not a rabble rouser and he's not trying to start any controversy. He's not trying to start a religious trend. He only wanted to express his faith and honor his uncle and brother," Sekulow said.

Sekulow said this isn't the first time the Schenectady school system has been sued over the issue.

"In 2005 a 12-year-old girl (Raven Furbert) had family members serving in Iraq and she wore a red, white and blue beaded necklace and was told by the school to take it off," Sekulow said.

"She sued and the school had to settle out of court and that presumably means a monetary out of court settlement. The superintendent of the school district was an assistant superintendent then and he was named in the suit," Sekulow said.