In a significant decision, U.S. District Judge David Carter ruled that a first-grade student in California, known as B.B., does not have First Amendment protection for a drawing she created. The controversy began when Principal Jesus Becerra punished B.B. after she gave a drawing to a classmate following a lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. and Black Lives Matter.
B.B.’s drawing featured the phrases “Black Lives Mater” [sic] and “any life,” meant to show empathy. However, Principal Becerra labeled the drawing “racist” and “inappropriate,” leading to B.B. being forbidden from drawing at school and missing two weeks of recess.
Chelsea Boyle, B.B.’s mother, was unaware of the incident for nearly a year.
Boyle pursued legal action, but Judge Carter dismissed the case. He stated, “Giving great weight to the fact that the students involved were in first grade, the Court concludes that the Drawing is not protected by the First Amendment.” Carter explained that elementary schools are not “marketplaces of ideas,” giving administrators more control over student speech compared to high schools.
The Pacific Legal Foundation, representing B.B., argued that the school’s actions were excessive, stating, “To punish a first-grader for giving an innocuous drawing to a classmate simply because of an imagined association of the drawing with alleged racist intent shows how deep the ideology of race essentialism has permeated.”
Chelsea Boyle expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, “My daughter’s rights were taken away.” Alexander Haberbush, Boyle’s attorney, added, “Every single student in this country has a right to free speech.”
The case is currently on appeal with the Ninth Circuit, with a ruling anticipated within the next year.
