Burleson High School (“BHS”) adopted a dress code barring students from displaying the Confederate flag in response to more than 50 race-related incidents since 2002. Because of a fight that broke out between BHS students and fans of a predominantly black high school before a basketball game, the Texas high-school athletics governing body considered sanctions against BHS because the school was “identified [as] having a reputation … as being openly hostile to African-Americans; if not simply racist.” In another incident, a BHS student drew a noose and made comments about hanging minorities.
Despite the flag ban, two students in 2006 carried purses to school bearing large images of the Confederate flag. BHS administrators told them to leave the purses in the office until school was out, but the girls chose to go home rather than comply with the demand. They filed suit, claiming the ban violated their First and 14th Amendment rights. The Fifth Circuit upheld the ban, however, noting that Supreme Court precedent allows for such a ban if there is evidence that a type of speech will likely disrupt school activities.
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