Jun 4, 2010 / 04:10 am
A federal judge has issued an order allowing a New York 13-year-old boy suspended for wearing a rosary to return to school immediately. The student may also wear his rosary when he returns.
School officials contended that wearing a rosary that included religious beads violated the school district’s dress code policy. They said the rosary is considered a gang-related symbol.
Oneida Middle School student Raymond Hosier was suspended under the policy.
His attorneys from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) argued that Hosier wore the rosary to express his faith in God and to honor the memory of a deceased uncle and a brother who died with the same rosary in his hands. He has reportedly worn the rosary since September 2009 without disruption to the school environment.