A California judge has ruled that teachers were justified in punishing a 7-year-old girl over a Black Lives Matter drawing because “she is too young to enjoy First Amendment rights.”
The first-grader was banned from playing and drawing at Viejo Elementary School in Orange County after she wrote the words “any life” under Black Lives Matter on a drawing she gave to a black friend.
The photo featured the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ with four circular shapes in various shades of brown, beige and yellow. The image was meant to ‘represent her friends’ who were ‘racially mixed’.
Last year, the girl’s family filed a lawsuit against the Capistrano Unified School District, alleging her First Amendment rights were violated during the 2021 incident.
But U.S. Central District Court Judge David Card ruled that “students have the right to be free from racially derogatory speech in school.” Card added that the drawing was not protected by the First Amendment because of the age of the girl, named BB in the lawsuit, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
A California judge has ruled that teachers were right to punish a 7-year-old girl over a Black Lives Matter drawing because ‘she is too young to have First Amendment rights’
Judge Card wrote: “A primary school … is not a marketplace of ideas. … Therefore, the disadvantages of regulating speech there are not as great as in secondary schools, where students are approaching voting age and controversial expressions can lead to constructive conversations.”
Furthermore, Judge Card wrote, “A parent may question (the principal’s) conclusion, but the decision to discipline BB rests with him, not the federal court.”
Card added that “BB’s intentions were undoubtedly innocent… BB testified that she gave the drawing to MC to give her peace of mind after her class learned about Martin Luther King Jr.”
BB was disciplined by her school after her friend, referred to in the lawsuit as MC, took the photo home. There, a parent saw the photo and found it offensive. He emailed the school demanding that they take action.
This prompted Principal Jesus Becerra to tell BB that the drawing was inappropriate and racist. He then punished BB by making her publicly apologize in the schoolyard to her classmates and teachers. BB was also banned from recess and drawing pictures for two weeks.
The drawing prompted Principal Jesus Becerra (pictured) to tell BB that the drawing was inappropriate and racist. He then punished BB by making her publicly apologize to her classmates and teachers on the school playground. BB was also banned from recess and drawing pictures for two weeks.
The mother of the girl, Chelsea Boyle, pictured, is suing her seven-year-old daughter’s primary school after she was reportedly forced to publicly apologise for writing “every life” on a Black Lives Matter drawing.
However, BB’s mother Chelsea Boyle only learned of the incident much later and took action.
Boyle said she didn’t think her daughter had done anything wrong: ‘I immediately got angry, I didn’t know what had happened, I knew it was fundamentally wrong.
“My daughter’s rights were taken away and I just started reaching out to find out what forced speech was. I didn’t know what it was until I talked to lawyers,” she told Fox News.
The case now heads to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorney Caleb Trotter told the San Francisco Chronicle that Card’s ruling could set a dangerous precedent for elementary school students.
Trotter said: ‘If that view continues and spreads, the freedom of speech of countless primary school children across the country could be in jeopardy. That was what really concerned me.’
The first-grader was banned from recess and drawing at Viejo Elementary in Orange County after she wrote the words “any life” under Black Lives Matter on a drawing she made and gave to a Black friend
Judge Card made his ruling final by noting that both BB and MC have moved on with their cases.
Card said: ‘BB and MC have undoubtedly come to terms with this incident from three years ago.
‘BB stated that the Drawing did not put a strain on their friendship… They taught us an important lesson about moving on.’