SCHOOL BOARD UPHOLDS DECISION ON STUDENT BANNER

The Juneau School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to uphold the suspension
of a Juneau-Douglas High School senior for holding a banner reading "Bong
Hits 4 Jesus" during the Olympic Torch Relay in January.

In a written decision, the board affirmed Joseph Frederick's 10-day
suspension. Frederick's father, Frank Frederick, said this morning that he
plans to pursue the case in the court system.

"The school district has a lot of litigation in front of them," he said.

Joseph Frederick, 18, had been seeking to have the suspension expunged from
his student record. The suspension was upheld last month by Superintendent
Gary Bader, and Tuesday's announcement came after a hearing before the
board last week that lasted more than four hours.

In its letter and vote, the board stated that it supported the reasoning
Bader used to make his February ruling.

"Students cannot be permitted to display speech that undermines the
school's mission and disrupts school events, argue with their principal and
defy the lawful directives of teachers and school administrators," Bader
wrote in that decision. He also noted that watching the torch relay was a
school-sanctioned event.

Board President Mary Becker said this morning that "the board unanimously
agreed with the superintendent's findings ... and based on that we affirmed
the suspension."

Juneau attorney Doug Mertz had been representing Frederick during district
proceedings in cooperation with the Alaska Civil Liberties Union, based in
Anchorage. He wasn't available this morning for a comment.

"We're very disappointed with the school board's decision," AkCLU Executive
Director Jennifer Rudinger said this morning. "We were much more optimistic
that this silly thing would go away."

Rudinger said the organization has not made a decision about representing
Frederick should the case proceed to litigation.