Girl Claims School Denied Speech Rights
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A Marin County eighth-grader sued her middle school, alleging her 1st Amendment rights were denied when she wasn’t allowed to give a speech that required audience participation.
Elektra Fike-Data, 13--running for school president at White Hill Middle School in Fairfax--planned to ask students sitting on the gym floor to scoot a few inches to the side and introduce themselves to the person beside them. Then she planned to say, “See, I just cleaned the gym and improved student relations. Just think of what I could do in a year as president.”
Fike-Data’s presentation was denied after school officials learned she planned to use audience participation--something they say is against the rules.
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