NY School Sued After 13-Year-Old Suspended Over Rosary
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBS/WCBS) A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a school to reinstate a 13-year-old boy who was suspended for wearing rosary beads, pending a hearing into whether the suspension violated his civil rights.
Oneida Middle School officials contend Raymond Hosier violated a policy banning gang-related clothing, as rosary beads are sometimes worn as gang symbols. But the seventh-grader, who initially was suspended two weeks ago, says he wears the purple rosary in memory of his younger brother, who died while clutching it after a bicycle accident.
"I was just mad that they were suspending me for rosary beads and I told them I wasn't in a gang and they must resemble my brother and uncle," Hosier told CBS affiliate WCBS.
Hosier said he refuses to take them off, and he could be suspended again if he wears them to school on Monday.
The American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court contending the suspension violated Hosier's rights to free speech and religious expression, reports WCBS.
The center took on the case for free, saying it was "deeply offensive" for the school district to call all rosary beads gang symbols. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hosier and his mother, Chantell Hosier, against the Schenectady City School District and school officials, including the middle school's principal.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the school's dress code and Hosier's suspension unconstitutional. It requests a jury trial.
Hosier received a one-week suspension for refusing to take off his prayer beads or hide them under his shirt two weeks ago. Hosier, saying he won't go to school without the rosary, was suspended again last week when he returned to school with it.
Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered Hosier reinstated pending the June 11 hearing.