Youth Suspended for Wearing Rosary Ordered Reinstated by Federal Judge

A victory for common sense occurred in a federal court when a judge ordered that the Oneida Middle School reinstate Raymond Hosier, of Schenectady, New York, who had been suspended for wearing a rosary in memory of his dead older brother.

School officials had maintained that Hosier had violated school rules against wearing gang-related clothing. The officials maintained that some gangs use rosaries as part of their symbols. Hosier had been wearing the rosary since the fall, but was ordered to hide or remove the prayer beads in May. When he repeatedly refused to do so, Hosier was suspended.

Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered Raymond Hosier reinstated in pending a hearing that will determine whether his civil rights were violated by the school.

Case history would seem to support Hosier's case. A number of judges have ruled in favor of students who have been disciplined for wearing clothing or even religious symbols that schools had termed gang-related. The problem is that no school who has been a defendant in such a case has been able to prove the connection between wearing something, like a rosary, and gang violence.

The Constitution would also seem to support Hosier. There is that inconvenient First Amendment that protects freedom of expression, including religious expression.

Finally, common sense would certainly seem to support Raymond Hosier. It was clear to anyone that he was not wearing a rosary because he was part of a gang, but rather to honor the memory of his older brother, dead in a bike accident. It was a profound expression of religious faith and family love, and Hosier was being punished for it.

The Raymond Hosier case illustrates a problem that has arisen in the American public school system in which rules designed to create a peaceful, educational environment are having the opposite effect because they are being imposed without flexibility. From students being punished for having a pocket knife or an aspirin to Raymond Hosier, one cannot escape the impression that, as zero tolerance has entered American schools, common sense has fled.

The problem is that students and parents have little recourse but the courts when school officials behave like fascists. It is fortunate that the American Center for Law and Justice was available to support Raymond Hosier's law suit. But not every family is so lucky or has the resources to wage battle in court.

Home schooling is not for everyone, and usually has to involve a non-working parent. Perhaps the best solution would be a school choice system in which students and their parents can choose from a variety of public and private schools, selecting the best that suits their needs, and not be captive to a monopolistic educational system that is often unresponsive and bureaucratic. Then, Raymond Hosier would not have had to sue his own school. He might have just gone to another with a more sensible dress code.