EASD Will Appeal "Boobies" Case

The Easton Area School District will appeal a federal court ruling in a case involving a pair of middle schoolers disciplined for wearing cancer awareness bracelets that read "I Heart Boobies."

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin found that the bracelets were not lewd or vulgar, as the district had claimed, and said school officials had not shown that wearing them was disruptive.

The district suspended two girls --Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez -- for wearing the bracelets, arguing they were inappropriate. The girls testified that they only meant to raise awareness of breast cancer.

On Wednesday night, the school board voted to appeal McLaughlin's ruling. In its resolution, the district says the decision "substantially undermines the authority of school officials to promote civil dialog and maintain decorum in the schools."

Other school districts have fought similar battles over the bracelets. The Easton case began last November, when the girls' parents took the district to federal court.