Rhode Island's education commissioner has ordered a high school to publish a yearbook photo showing a teenager with a sword.
The 17-year-old is a fan of the Middle Ages, so he wore chain mail and slung a prop sword over his shoulder for his senior portrait. Portsmouth High School officials rejected the picture, saying it violated their zero-tolerance policy on weapons.
The American Civil Liberties Union got involved. Its lawyers argued the school has allowed students to pose for more than a decade with props that show their interests, including musical instruments and horses.
A state education hearing officer added that past editions of the yearbook have had pictures of other items banned by school rules, including a corn-cob pipe, liquor bottles, a beer stein, toy guns, arrows and a knife.
