JUSTICES DEBATE 'BONG' BANNER

WASHINGTON - In a lively session over a student's "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"
banner, former independent counsel Kenneth Starr urged the Supreme
Court on Monday to let public schools ban signs, buttons or other
messages that undercut anti-drug policy.

As scores of students milled in and around the columned building,
Starr argued that a principal in Juneau, Alaska, did not violate
Joseph Frederick's speech rights when she tore down the banner he had
unfurled at an Olympic Torch Relay parade in 2002.

The principal, Deborah Morse, said the "bong" phrase referred to
marijuana and suspended him for 10 days. Frederick, a senior at the
time, said his words were merely nonsense meant to draw television
cameras as students watched the parade.

A majority of the justices did not make clear how they would rule, but
they were more open to Starr's anti-drug rationale than his broader
argument that schools should be able to regulate any message that
conflicts with the far-reaching educational mission.

Monday's test of student speech rights arises as schools face
increased violence and drug use on their grounds. The National School
Boards Associationsays administrators should have expansive latitude
to stop messages related to subjects such as drugs, guns and
homosexuality.

On Frederick's side are an unusual contingent of liberal groups and
conservatives. All are worried that credible student views will be
censored.

"The problem," Chief Justice John Roberts said, "is that school boards
these days take it upon themselves to broaden their mission well
beyond ... illegal substances."

Responding to such concerns, Starr said, "The court does not need to
go more broadly (than the drug issue)."

Lawyer Douglas Mertz, representing Frederick, emphasized, "This is a
case about free speech."

Justice Anthony Kennedy was sympathetic to the efforts to counter
illegal drug use. Frederick's sign, he said, was "completely
disruptive of the school's image that they wanted to portray in
sponsoring the Olympics."