INDIANA

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - DRESS CODE

In 2009 the Lebanon School District reversed its policy of requiring female students to wear dresses to the prom immediately after a legal challenge was brought by a senior who was a lesbian and wanted to wear a tuxedo to the prom.  The new policy eliminates the gender-based attire requirement and permits the wearing of tuxedos by females to the prom.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - DRESS CODE
David Griggs, a student at Elmhurst High School, challenged his school's dress code that banned "apparel depicting...symbols of violence."  Griggs had been disciplined for wearing a T-shirt in support of the United States Marine Corps that featured a picture of an M-16 rifle and the Creed of the US Marines which ends: "I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.  I must shoot him before he shoots me."   He sued the school district in federal district court, claiming the dress code was overbroad.  The court agreed with him.  The judges saw no sign that the T-shirt caused disruption at school and no other student had complained about the T-shirt message.  In the court’s opinion the school system policy as applied to this particular T-shirt served “no legitimate pedagogical concern.”

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
In March 2006, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents represented by the ACLU in a case challenging fees for public school students at an Indianapolis school.  Although the Indiana Constitution states that "tuition shall be without charge," the school had been charging students a $20 mandatory student services fee in order to cover the costs of nurses, athletics, and counselors.  The ruling did not apply to fees for textbooks.  Indiana is one of ten states to require students to pay for the books they use in school.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
At the end of 2006, district court ruled on behalf of three Knightstown High School sophomores who were expelled for making a film off-campus about a doll that kills a teacher, "The Teddy Bear Master."  The students were allowed to return to school and shared a $69,000 settlement. 

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
In 2007, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the principal of Greencastle Middle School infringed on a student's  First Amendment rights when he put her on probation for creating a MySpace page containing expletives and criticisms of the principal.   The state court found her comments were protected under the free expression provision of the Indiana Constitution.