Hearing Granted for 13-Year-Old Suspended for Wearing Rosary to School
A 13-year-old boy suspended from his New York school for wearing rosary beads can return to school after a federal judge ordered a hearing to determine whether the student’s civil rights were violated.
Oneida Middle School officials were ordered to reinstate the boy on Tuesday after the American Center for Law & Justice filed a case in U.S. District Court claiming the suspension violated Raymond Hosier’s rights to free speech and religious expression, reports the Washington Post.
The seventh-grader says he wears the purple rosary in memory of his younger brother, who died while clutching it after a bicycle accident. School officials, who suspended Hosier two weeks ago, contend he violated a policy banning gang-related clothing. Rosary beads are sometimes worn as gang symbols.
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