Overview

• The Supreme Court refused to review a challenge to John T. Nichols Middle School’s decision to bar a T-shirt reading “There are only two genders,” leaving the 1st Circuit’s ruling intact.
• In 2024 the Boston-based appeals court applied Tinker v. Des Moines to conclude that the shirt’s message could reasonably disrupt classes and negatively affect transgender pupils.
• Liam Morrison, then a seventh grader, was sent home in March 2023 after he declined to remove the shirt and later sued the district with backing from the Alliance Defending Freedom.
• Middleborough’s dress code prohibits clothing that targets groups based on gender identity, and officials cited testimony about LGBTQ+ students’ serious mental health struggles tied to peer treatment.
• Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision, warning that thousands of students could attend school without full First Amendment protections.