Boy Suspended For Rosary — Reinstated

Do your remember that story from a few weeks ago in which a boy was suspended for wearing a rosary around his neck? The school viewed as a gang symbol but the boy wore it becuase his brother died clutching it after a bicycle accident.

A judge has ordered Raymond Hosier reinstated pending a hearing into whether the suspension violated his civil rights.

The The American Center for Law and Justice came to Raymond’s defense and said:

The center took on the case for free, saying it was “deeply offensive” for the school district to call all rosary beads gang symbols. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hosier and his mother, Chantell Hosier, against the Schenectady City School District and school officials, including the middle school’s principal.

A district spokeswoman did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Tuesday.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the school’s dress code and Hosier’s suspension unconstitutional. It requests a jury trial.

Hosier received a one-week suspension for refusing to take off his prayer beads or hide them under his shirt two weeks ago. Hosier, saying he won’t go to school without the rosary, was suspended again last week when he returned to school with it.

Judge Lawrence Kahn ordered Hosier reinstated pending the June 11 hearing.