The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to review the appeal of a Massachusetts middle school student who was ordered to remove a T-shirt stating “there are only two genders.”

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, expressing concern that without Supreme Court intervention, many students may be denied full First Amendment protections in schools. Alito emphasized that this issue merits the Court’s attention, warning that thousands of students could attend school without their free speech rights fully upheld.

Liam Morrison wore the shirt to Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, in 2023 to express his belief that gender and biological sex are the same. After school officials asked him to take it off and he refused, he was sent home for the day. Later, he wore the same shirt again, this time covering the words “only two” with tape labeled “censored.”

Morrison and his family filed a lawsuit claiming the school district violated his First Amendment rights. Both the district court and the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him.

The case hinges on the landmark 1969 Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines, which affirmed students’ free speech rights in schools but allowed administrators to restrict speech that “materially disrupts” school activities. In that case, students were permitted to wear black armbands protesting the Vietnam War.

However, the appeals court expanded the scope, allowing schools to regulate speech that “assertedly demeans” the personal identity of others if it is “reasonably forecasted” to harm the educational environment. Morrison’s legal team, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, argues this interpretation sidelines Tinker and grants schools too much power to define what speech is harmful.

School officials responded by highlighting concerns about transgender and gender-nonconforming students who have faced serious mental health challenges, including suicidal thoughts, due to mistreatment based on gender identity. They argued that protecting these students is essential to maintaining a safe and effective learning environment.