Young v. Giles County Board of Education

181 F. Supp. 3d 459, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170695, 2015 WL 9413877
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedDecember 22, 2015
DocketNo. 1:15-cv-00107
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 181 F. Supp. 3d 459 (Young v. Giles County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Young v. Giles County Board of Education, 181 F. Supp. 3d 459, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170695, 2015 WL 9413877 (M.D. Tenn. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

KEVIN H. SHARP, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Rebecca Young’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (Docket No. 5) (“Motion”). Plaintiff has named as Defendants the Giles County Board of Education, as well as Phillip J. Wright and Micah Landers in them individual and official capacities. Defendants have not responded to Plaintiffs Motion or even entered an appearance in the case. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs Motion will be granted.

I. Factual & Procedural Background

Because Defendants have not yet responded to Plaintiffs’ filings, the facts giving rise to the Motion remain entirely undisputed. The Court draws the following from Plaintiffs Verified Complaint (Docket No. 1) and the letters filed in support of Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Docket Nos. 6-1 & 6-2).

On August 5, 2015, the first day of her senior year at Richland High School, Plaintiff wore a t-shirt that read “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It.” The shirt did not cause any disruptions throughout [462]*462the day.1 Plaintiff states that “[n]o student or faculty member expressed to or otherwise interacted with Young in a manner manifesting any hostility, disapproval, or offense to the message on her shirt.” (Docket No. 1 at ¶ 24). It was not until the end of the school day that Plaintiff encountered any hostility toward her t-shirt. Even that small measure of opposition came from not from her peers or instructors, but from Defendant Micah Landers, the principal. Defendant Landers summoned Plaintiff to the front of the school cafeteria, which was full of students, and informed her that she could not wear to school either her t-shirt or “any other shirt referencing LGBT rights.” Id at ¶26.2

Plaintiffs mother followed up with Defendant Landers by phone later that day, at which time he “confirmed that he had forbidden [Plaintiff] from wearing the shirt or any other apparel which bore phrases, symbols, slogans or other indicia of or in support of the LGBT community.” Id. at ¶27. Defendant Landers’s stated reason, as relayed to both Plaintiff and her mother, was that this wholesale ban . was necessary to protect Plaintiff from “bullying or harassment.” Id. Plaintiffs mother then telephoned Defendant Phillip J, Wright, Director of Schools for Giles County, Tennessee.' Defendant Wright said that “pro-LGBT messages are sexual in nature and, therefore, prohibited by the dress code.” Id. at ¶ 31. In a letter several weeks later, Defendants again justified the restriction by stating that Plaintiff “would have been bullied or harassed by students” “due to the nature of the shirt’s writing and the environment of the school.” (Docket No. 6-2).

Defendants’ letter also cited the official policies which they asserted provide authorization for their restriction on Plaintiffs dress. One of the policies states that “[i]n order to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning and to prepare students for working environment [sic], the Giles County School System requires that all students, grades K-12, exercise good taste with regard to their personal appearance. Attire considered disruptive or risky to health or school/personal safety is not appropriate.” Id. Another policy provides that “[w]hen a student is attired in a manner which is likely to cause disruption or interference with the operation of the school, the principal shall administer appropriate punishment, which may include suspension and/or expulsion.” Id. Defendants also expressed that it was their “intent to protect all students interest [sic] but not at the expense of student’s- [sic] safety and their learning environment.” Id.

Plaintiff filed suit in November, bringing claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. (Docket No. 1). She seeks injunc-tive relief that would enjoin Defendants from restricting her ability to express her support LGBT rights, including but not limited to the t-shirt worn on August 5, 2015. As noted above, Defendants have not responded to the litigation.

II. Injunctive Relief

This Court must consider four factors in deciding whether to issue a preliminary injunction: (1) whether the mov-ant has a strong likelihood of success on the merits; (2) whether the movant would suffer irreparable harm without the injunc[463]*463tion; (3) whether issuance of the injunction would cause substantial harms to others; and (4) whether the public interest would be served by issuance of the injunction. Bonnell v. Lorenzo, 241 F.3d 800, 809 (6th Cir.2001). No single factor is a prerequisite to the issuance of a preliminary injunction; rather the Court must balance all four factors. Neveux v. Webcraft Tech., Inc., 921 F.Supp. 1568, 1570-71 (E.D.Mich.1996) (citing Performance Unlimited v. Questar Publishers, Inc., 52 F.3d 1373, 1381 (6th Cir.1995)). .Before a preliminary injunction may issue, however, a plaintiff must always demonstrate some irreparable injury that necessitates the injunction. Id. at 1571 (quoting Friendship Materials, Inc. v. Mich. Brick, Inc., 679 F.2d 100, 104 (6th Cir.1982)).

A. Likelihood of Success on the Merits

Plaintiff brings suit to stop her school from censoring her expression of her views on a topic of undeniable political importance. The legal ground covering such issues is so well-trod that the Court finds itself surprised at the need to journey down this path. Nevertheless, the Court draws upon analogous precedent to reach the conclusion that Plaintiff will likely succeed on the merits of her claims.

A First Amendment problem arises when students in a public school, in the exercise of their First Amendment rights, collide with the rules and policies of school officials. Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503, 507, 89 S.Ct. 733, 21 L.Ed.2d 731 (1969). The Supreme Court has emphatically stated on a'number of occasions “that students do not ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.’ ” Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393, 127 S.Ct. 2618, 168 L.Ed.2d 290 (2007) (quoting Tinker, 393 U.S, at 506, 89 S.Ct. 733). Still, “the constitutional rights of students in public school are not automatically, coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings.” Bethel Sch. Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675, 682, 106 S.Ct. 3159, 92 L.Ed.2d 549 (1986). Courts must apply the rights of students “in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.” Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 266, 108 S.Ct. 562, 98 L.Ed.2d 592 (1988) (quoting Tinker, 393 U.S. at 506, 89 S.Ct. 733).

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181 F. Supp. 3d 459, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170695, 2015 WL 9413877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/young-v-giles-county-board-of-education-tnmd-2015.