WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 15: A police officer is seen outside the Supreme Court of the United States is seen on Thursday May 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. The court is hearing arguments about lower courts ability to block President Donald Trump's policy to end birthright citzenship. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Washington D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the appeal of a Massachusetts student who challenged his middle school’s decision to bar him from wearing a T-shirt with the message “There are only two genders,” effectively allowing the school’s restriction on the shirt to remain in place.
The case began in 2023 when Liam Morrison, a seventh-grade student at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, wore the shirt in class as a response to what he and his legal team described as an overwhelming presence of messaging at school promoting the belief that gender identity is fluid. Morrison was asked to remove the shirt and sent home after refusing to comply. He later returned to school wearing another shirt that included the phrase “There are [censored] genders,” with the word “censored” taped over the message.
Though Morrison was not formally punished, school administrators prohibited the shirts from being worn in class, citing concerns for student well-being and the potential for disruption. School officials said the dress code, which bans hate speech and demeaning messages, was enforced to protect gender-nonconforming students, some of whom had experienced serious mental health issues.
Lower courts sided with the school. A federal district judge and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston both ruled that school officials were within their rights to restrict the message. The appeals court cited a landmark 1969 Supreme Court ruling that protects student speech unless it is likely to cause substantial disruption. Judges determined that Morrison’s shirt could reasonably be seen as demeaning and potentially disruptive, even if no actual disruptions occurred.
The decision not to hear the case leaves that ruling intact, though two of the court’s conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, dissented. Alito argued that the case raised serious questions about free speech rights in schools and criticized the lower court for deferring too much to school officials without clear evidence of disruption.
This comes amid a national cultural and legal debate over gender identity in schools. The Supreme Court is also currently considering a case from Maryland involving parental objections to LGBT-themed books in classrooms.
As the legal battle over Morrison’s shirt ends, broader questions remain about how schools balance free expression with concerns for inclusivity and student safety.
