New policy means students can’t be singled out for expressing their beliefs

December 10, 2020

JACKSON, Miss. – Prompted by a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom, Rankin County Board of Education officials have voted unanimously to change policies that led to a Northwest Rankin High School student being forced to remove his face mask with the words “Trump -2020- Keep America Great!” on it. The policy changes from the board’s November meeting became official Wednesday when the board adopted that meeting’s minutes.

The student, David Ferguson, wore the mask to peacefully express his support for the re-election of President Donald Trump. Ferguson was walking through the hallway at school when one of the principals pulled him aside and required him to remove the mask because it was “political.” Ferguson complied with the principal’s request, even though he had observed other students wearing masks to express their political beliefs. After receiving the ADF letter, the school district quickly suspended its policy. The newly revised policy prohibits such censorship going forward.

Full news release, quotes, and related media resources available at the following link:

http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/11149

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is dedicated to ensuring freedom of speech and association for students and faculty so that everyone can freely participate in the marketplace of ideas without fear of government censorship.

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