The College Fix

Schools have a ‘legitimate interest in preventing disruptions,’ but can’t arbitrarily ban words

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has contacted officials at an Iowa school to inform them that a social studies teacher’s list of “banned words” doesn’t pass constitutional muster.

The list, created by a seventh grade teacher at Fremont-Mills Middle and Senior HS, includes terms such as “pimp,” “womp womp,” “Ohio,” “sigma,” “chat,” and “meow.”

Violation of the word ban “automatically results in a thirty-minute detention” for which the teacher already has disciplined “at least ten students,” FIRE notes.

KATV reports while some terms on the list are related to contemporary “meme culture” (like references to rapper Diddy such as “Diddy party,” “Diddler,” “oiled up” and “baby oil”), others like “Ohio” make no sense without background or reference.

(According to FIRE, “Ohio” is a Generation Alpha — those born after 2009 — term which “describes something weird or bizarre” … which explains why I was clueless.)

The teacher also forbade drug, Nazi, and Holocaust “refrences” (thankfully she’s not an English teacher), along with LGBTQ+ and fat-related jokes.

FIRE attorney Aaron Terr’s letter to Principal Kurt Hanna (cc’d to Superintendent Dave Gute) says he “understand[s] schools have a legitimate interest in preventing classroom disruptions, but that does not justify categorically banning a long list of words, phrases, and references — including ordinary words like ‘Ohio’ and ‘chat’ — without regard to context.”

MORE: Univ. rebukes instructor who banned ‘mom,’ ‘dad’ and other gendered words from class

[The teacher]’s list of “banned words” likewise prohibits a substantial amount of protected student speech. While many have slang meanings, slang is not inherently disruptive or vulgar. The banned word […] “Rizz” is slang for “charisma.”

“Sigma,” in slang, refers to “men who are successful and popular, but also silent and rebellious, a type of man who likes to ‘play by his own rules.’” Absent more, these innocuous uses are protected. Many of the banned words also carry traditional, non-slang meanings, yet the list does not make an exception even for these uses. Can a student refer to the state of Ohio? Or mention a “chat” with a friend? Or describe a “barking” dog (or “alpha” wolf)? Benign student speech must not be a casualty of efforts to prevent disruption.”

Terr also notes speech discouraging drug use still mentions drugs, and that “Nazi and Holocaust references are similarly not per se disruptive.”

Further, does it make sense that someone is permitted to wear an “I <3 boobies” shirt in school (B.H. v. Easton Area School District) … but not one that says “Ohio”?

Principal Hanna told KATV that “the grievance in question was previously addressed with the complainant” and will be investigated further.

One might be inclined to cut the teacher some slack as, based on her Linkedin page, it appears that she’s a first year teacher. Then again, she studied American government and U.S. history.

MORE: Public university bans ‘offensive’ words on flyers

IMAGE: FIRE

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter