Youth’s Protest Suits Him to a T : Schools: Simi Valley teen-ager wears patriotic-themed shirts in a personal challenge of school’s dress code.

Fourteen-year-old John Spindler does not see himself as a rebel.

But after learning this summer that his junior high school was adopting a strict new dress code, the Simi Valley teen-ager became determined to fight the policy.

So wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the U.S. flag, John arrived for classes at Valley View Junior High School Thursday, only to be sent home for the third time in two weeks for violating the school’s dress code.

The youth purchased three patriotic T-shirts bearing various American symbols before school started, knowing Valley View’s new policy forbids shirts adorned with writing or pictures.

The ninth-grader’s protest is a direct challenge to the school’s tougher dress code, passed last spring in an attempt to curb campus violence after the fatal stabbing of a Valley View student in February.

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Some students at the junior high school have applauded John’s defiance; others think his actions are foolish.

“It is good that somebody is standing up to the dress code,” eighth-grader Cori Lee said. She said she objects to the school dictating fashion on campus.

“I think he is stupid,” said ninth-grader Heather Terry. “The dress code was made so when he comes to school each day, his life is not in danger.”

School officials say the policy makes the campus safer by banning gang-related attire and promoting a more professional learning environment.

But John believes the policy infringes upon his constitutional right to free speech. “It is against the First Amendment,” he said. “You should be able to wear an American flag shirt.”

John’s mother, Ellen, fully backs her son’s protest. “My husband is a Vietnam veteran and if our son cannot wear an American flag shirt, this has become a really sad state,” she said.

The Spindlers recently contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, and a private attorney, about their fight.

“We are very, very actively reviewing this case in Simi Valley,” ACLU spokesman Allan Parachini said. “We have been in touch with the family and we are aware of the situation. Obviously there have been issues of free speech over the American flag,” Parachini said. “Whether this fits that pattern remains to be seen.”

Parachini said the civil rights group will make a decision about the case within a week.

Meanwhile, Simi Valley school board member Debbie Sandland said she intends to bring the dress code up for discussion at a future board meeting.

“I am very concerned about it,” Sandland said Thursday. “Everything I’ve read about dress codes says it has to be related to safety and health and it has to be reasonable. And I don’t consider barring a kid with an American flag T-shirt reasonable.”

In the meantime, John said he plans to go to school every day in the T-shirt of his choice, hoping that school officials will eventually yield.

“I am going to continue to protest it,” he said, even if it means being barred from his classes. “I just want to have everyone’s rights back and my rights back.”