So the POV paraphrased was: someone could consider it CP, I'm not going to argue whether it is or isn't, but it will be disruptive and I'm here to teach and the class to learn so let's nip this in the bud and get on with my lesson.
I thought that was a very reasonable take on the situation which was getting disruptive first period history class. much more reasonable than a suspension or the like.
If someone made the same case for a woman wearing a regular skirt in class, (I hope) everyone would be up in arms, and rightfully so.
(Personally, I had to wear a jacket and tie though, so what do I know.)
The students were wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War; they prevailed:
> The court observed, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
> The Court held that for school officials to justify censoring speech, they "must be able to show that [their] action was caused by something more than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint," that the conduct that would "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school."
(From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_v._Des_Moines_Independe...)
- The Supreme Court ruling probably has a fair bit of wiggle room especially where the clothing doesn't make an explicit political statement
- The Supreme Court is not in the classroom. The teacher is.