On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Intervenes After School Officials Allegedly Order Students to Cease Wearing 'Virginity Rocks' Abstinence T-Shirts
Rutherford Institute Attorneys Warn School Officials Against Infringing on Students' Free Speech Rights
Charlottesville, VA -- Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have come to the defense of high school students who were allegedly warned by school officials to cease wearing t-shirts to school that proclaim an abstinence message. In a letter to the Superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, informed school officials that they could face possible legal action if they do not take steps to ensure that students who wear "Virginity Rocks" t-shirts as part of a campaign to promote abstinence are allowed to do so without threat of punishment. Whitehead also informed school officials that prohibiting students from wearing the abstinence t-shirts places a chilling effect on their free speech rights and infringes on their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
"In light of the fact that nearly 26% (1 in 4) of American girls aged 14-19 have at least one sexually transmitted disease, I can't imagine why any school would object to a message that promotes abstinence over potentially risky sexual activity," said Whitehead. "It is our hope that school officials will recognize and respect that these students have a constitutional right to exercise their freedom of speech by wearing 'Virginity Rocks' t-shirts."
The Rutherford Institute was asked to intervene after teenagers wearing abstinence t-shirts at both Albemarle High School and Charlottesville High School were allegedly ordered by school officials to change their shirts or turn the shirts inside out. The censored t-shirts, which proclaim "Virginity Rocks" on the front and "I'm loving my Husband And I haven't even Met Him! MyLifeMyCall.com" on the back, are part of a campaign developed by Worth Your Wait, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and well-being of students in Central Virginia. A primary goal of the campaign is to empower students to resist negative peer pressure when making decisions about sexual activity and to inform students about the physical risks of having sex. Worth Your Wait provides free t-shirts to any students who identify themselves as abstinent teens.
In his letter to Albemarle County school officials, Whitehead pointed out that the school's decision to prohibit the abstinence t-shirts contradicts the Commonwealth's curriculum guidelines for family life education. Whitehead also reminded school officials that in keeping with U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence, they may only restrict student speech if it would cause a substantial disturbance in the school, invade the rights of others or if it is vulgar, lewd or plainly offensive. Thus, observed Whitehead, "It is difficult to imagine how the shirts worn by Albemarle students--shirts promoting the message of abstinence for public health purposes--could reasonably be considered to be so disturbing as to produce in school officials a well-founded expectation of disruption."
