In fall 2021 when public schools opened for in-person teaching in Mississippi a 9-year-old third grader came to school wearing a COVID face mask on which following was inscribed: “Jesus Love

In fall 2021 when public schools opened for in-person teaching in Mississippi a 9-year-old third grader came to school wearing a COVID face mask on which following was inscribed: “Jesus Loves Me”. Other kids in school also had mask on which they had variety of things inscribed such as their logo or mascot favorite sports team, cartoon character, superhero, etc. The school asked the kid with the “Jesus mask” remove the mask and gave an alternate mask with nothing inscribed on it.
The parents of the kid feel that the school has violated their kid’s free speech right protected by the First Amendment. Initially parents pointed out that this was “viewpoint discrimination” on religious grounds as masks with other types of inscriptions were allowed by the school. The school did not have any rules on masks before the controversy broke, however, after the parents pointed out “viewpoint discrimination” the school created a rule that allowed only plain masks with no inscriptions or logos. The parents have now sued the school in the federal court. The controversy will now be decided on by courts (Check out the story here). https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/connecticut/articles/2020-11-04/mississippi-family-sues-school-in-jesus-loves-me-mask-ban
Thinking about the prior restraint cases we have covered in the class (e.g. Tinker V. Des Moines), discuss if the school has violated or not violated the First Amendment rights of the kid with the Jesus Loves Me Mask.