7th Grader Suspended for Wearing Rosary to School

ACLJ Vows to Pursue "All Legal Avenues" to Protect Student's Rights: "This school district will get a lesson in the First Amendment," said Jay Sekulow, ACLJ chief counsel.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2010—The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which specializes in constitutional law, announced today that it is representing a 13-year-old student from New York who received a two-day suspension for wearing a rosary to school.  A school district spokesperson told a local newspaper that the rosary beads "could be an identifier of gangs" and needed to be removed "for safety reasons."

The ACLJ called the school district's actions "offensive" and "insulting" and vowed to "pursue all legal avenues" to ensure that the constitutional rights of student Raymond Hosier are protected.

"To equate a rosary to a gang symbol is not only wrong, but deeply offensive," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ.  "The action taken by the school district - suspending the student for wearing a religious artifact - is insulting and inappropriate.  The Supreme Court has been very clear that students do not surrender their constitutional rights to religious expression when they go to school.  We're representing the family in this case and will pursue all legal avenues to ensure that the rights of Raymond Hosier are protected."

Officials at Oneida Middle School in Schenectady suspended Raymond Hosier, a seventh grade student, for two days after he refused to remove a rosary he had been wearing around his neck.  Raymond says wearing the rosary brings him comfort and honors the memory of his deceased older brother and uncle.  School officials defended the disciplinary action by saying that wearing the rosary violated school policy.  

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.  The ACLJ is online at www.aclj.org.  The ACLJ's online newsroom can be accessed at www.DeMossNews.com/aclj.