Kiran Chatha 

1st 
News Story 2 
● 5W and H 
○ Who: the school  
○ What: disciplinary hearing 
○ When: Tuesday 
○ Why: to move Stacy Carol to an alternative school 
○ How: as punishment for breaking dress code (lip ring) 
● Lead 
○ The school will be holding a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday to move Stacy Carol to an alternative school in 
response to her refusing to remove her lip ring, which is a dress code violation. 
● Quotes 
○ “ We have a dress code to have order and discipline in our schools. Imagine what our schools would be like if 
we allowed students to wear whatever they liked.” -Superintendent Parker Gordon 
○ “ We also want our students to understand expectations in dress. Employers have dress codes. We are 
modeling the business world with our expectations.” 
○ “Our spirituality comes from what we choose to do to ourselves. Through body modification, we can change 
how we see ourselves and the world around us.” - Sophomore Stacy Carol 
○ “The piercing is part of Stacy’s religion. My daughter wants to go to class, but she also doesn’t want her First 
Amendment rights trampled.” - Stacy’s mother Lareina Carol. 
○ “Just because a few people get together and call themselves a church doesn’t mean they are a church in the 
eyes of the law.” - Constitutional Lawyer Jett Ramirez 
○ “Stacy has a solid case. It is in the best interest of the school to allow her a religious exemption from the 
dress code.” - ACLU Lawyer Sonia Stevens 
○ “The district doesn’t have much to stand on since it already has two religious exemptions on file. It will be 
hard pressed to defend that in a court.” -ACLU lawyer Sonia Stevens 
● Facts 
○ She is a sophomore 
○ Was suspended for 3 days 2 weeks ago for not removing the ring 
○ Facial jewelry violates dress code 
■ Only girls cans have piercings, but only on their ears 
○ Says her 1st amendment right is being violated 
○ Her and her mother are members of the church of body modification 
○ Its an interfaith church that uses body mod to experience the divine 
○ 2 Muslim girls have exceptions to the code so they can wear their hijabs 
■ Other hats and headwear are prohibited 
○ Local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has agreed to defend carol at her meeting 
■ If she loses, they will pursue in court 
 
 
The school will hold a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday in an attempt to move sophomore 
Stacy Carol to an alternative school in response to her refusing to remove her lip ring, which is a 
dress code violation.  
 Carol, a straight-A student, wears her piercing as a part of her religion and feels that her 
first amendment right to exercise religion permits her to do so. 
“Our spirituality comes from what we choose to do to ourselves,” Carol said. “Through 
body modification, we can change how we see ourselves and the world around us.” 
Carol and her mother are members of the Church of Body Modification, a church that uses 
body modification to experience the divine. Carol refused to remove her piercing, arguing that it 
was a part of her religion, and in turn received a three-day suspension.  
Since then, she has been kept in in-school suspension. Carol argued that her First 
Amendment right is being suppressed, but the district said the lip ring is a blatant violation of the 
school dress code. 
“We have a dress code to have order and discipline in our schools,” superintendent Parker 
Gordon said. “Imagine what our schools would be like if we allowed students to wear whatever they 
liked.” 
The dress code was created in 2009 with the help of a group of students, faculty, and 
community members who decided on an appropriate set of rules for the district. One of the rules 
agreed on was the ban of facial jewelry, excluding ear piercings on girls. 
“We also want our students to understand expectations in dress,” Gordon said. “Employers 
have dress codes. We are modeling the business world with our expectations.” 
Carol’s absence from class has become a concern for her mother. She has missed 11 days 
of class as of yet. 
“The piercing is part of Stacy’s religion,” Stacy’s mother Lareina Carol said. “My daughter 
wants to go to class, but she also doesn’t want her First Amendment rights trampled.”  
The pair joined the congregation during winter break after having looked for a church to 
join since their move to Leaguetown the previous year.  
Both Carol and the district have prepared for the upcoming hearing by obtaining lawyers. 
The district’s lawyer called into question the legitimacy of Carol’s religion. 
“Just because a few people get together and call themselves a church doesn’t mean they 
are a church in the eyes of the law,” constitutional lawyer Jett Ramirez said.  
He argued Carol’s rights were not lessened as the First Amendment offers little protection 
for religious freedom claims since the ruling in 1990 that stated the government can deny religious 
exemption without a ‘compelling state interest’ 
After hearing of Carol’s dilemma, the local branch of the American Civil Liberties Union 
agreed to defend her at the hearing. They plan to take the case to court if Carol loses the hearing. 
“The district doesn’t have much to stand on since it already has two religious exemptions 
on file,” ACLU lawyer Sonia Stephens said. “It will be hard pressed to defend that in a court.” 
The district had previously granted religious exemptions to two Muslim girls at the school 
that allowed them to wear their hijabs despite the rule against hats and headwear. 
“Stacy has a solid case. It is in the best interest of the school to allow her a religious 
exemption from the dress code,” Stephens said.