Free speech advocates are crying foul after they say an Iowa social studies teacher banned the use of a lengthy list of words and phrases in her classroom, including the name of an entire state. But officials from the school now say students helped create the list, and that it’s no longer on display.
On Tuesday, the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) wrote to officials at the Fremont-Mills Community School District, warning that a seventh-grade social studies teacher’s alleged speech ban is unconstitutional.
“Everyone agrees that teachers have a duty to prevent classroom disruption, but a blanket ban on specific words and topics, regardless of the context, goes too far,” Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the civil liberties group, told Fox News Digital in an email.
An Iowa social studies teacher’s list of “Banned Words” in her classroom, drew criticism from a free speech group, but the school says the list was made with student input. (Courtesy of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)
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The list of “Banned Words” in the teacher’s classroom spanned more than a dozen individual words such as “Ohio,” which can mean “weird,” “cringe” or “dumb,” among Generation Alpha circles; “rizz,” which is short for “charisma”; and “skibidi,” which refers to a series of videos featuring animated talking heads that emerge from toilets.
“Diddy party,” “baby oil,” “brain rot” and “rage quitting” also made the viral list.
The poster further includes a blanket ban on meowing, barking, curse words, racist comments, LGBTQ+ and fat jokes, and references to drugs, Nazis or the Holocaust.
School administrators told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon that students helped craft the list “as an important lesson of civic responsibility … promoting empathy and awareness of how language affects others.” They added that the “chart has not been displayed since the first quarter.”
“Our goal is not to censor or stifle student speech, but to guide students toward language that fosters a positive and inclusive learning environment,” officials from the rural district located in southwestern Iowa added.
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Saying “any of these words listed” was punishable by a 30-minute detention, according to a note at the bottom of the poster. A parent told FIRE that at least 10 students have been disciplined, but school administrators said “consequences are not based solely upon using particular words, unless they are considered vulgar, lewd, threatening, a substantial disruption of the school environment, or bullying toward another student.”
FIRE acknowledged that schools have a “legitimate interest in preventing actual classroom disruptions,” but said categorically banning a list of terms — including common words like “Ohio” and “chat” — without regard to context violates students’ free speech rights.
“It is well-established that public school students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate,” Terr wrote to the school’s principal and superintendent, citing the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District.
A rural Iowa school district says a teacher’s list of “Banned Words” was created with the input of students during a civics lesson. “We acknowledge that evolving language and slang from social media platforms plays a tremendous role in students’ interactions,” the district wrote in a statement. “While these expressions can be creative and accepted, they may also carry meanings or connotations that may disrupt the classroom or negatively affect peers.” (iStock)
FIRE called on the district to remove the list, “stop censoring non-disruptive student expression,” and respond by Dec. 23.
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“Students and parents are right to speak up when speech rights are threatened, and we think this can be a great teaching moment for all involved about protecting student expression in our public schools,” Terr told Fox News Digital.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated with a response from the school district.
Fox News Digital reached out to FIRE for additional comment.
Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.
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