Supreme Court won't hear 'Let's Go Brandon' sweatshirt case. Here's what students can wear

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from two Michigan middle school students who were told to take off sweatshirts reading "Let's Go Brandon," leaving in place a lower-court ruling that sided with their school.

The justices turned the case away without comment, and no justice noted a dissent, according to Courthouse News. The decision means the ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands.

## What happened

In early 2022, two brothers, then in eighth and sixth grade, wore "Let's Go Brandon" sweatshirts to Tri County Middle School in Howard City, Michigan, according to CNN and Education Week. Staff asked them to remove the shirts. The school's dress code bans clothing with "lewd, indecent, vulgar, or profane" messages.

The phrase dates to a 2021 NASCAR race, when a TV reporter interviewing driver Brandon Brown described a crowd's profane chant aimed at then-President Joe Biden as "Let's go, Brandon." The slogan became a coded political insult toward Biden.

The family sued in 2023, arguing the school violated the students' First Amendment rights. They were represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), according to CNN.

## How the lower courts ruled

Two lower courts rejected the students' challenge. In October 2025, a divided 6th Circuit panel ruled 2-1 for the school.

"Because the school reasonably understood the slogan 'Let's Go Brandon' to be vulgar, we affirm," the majority wrote. Judge John B. Nalbandian put it more bluntly, according to Education Week: "In the schoolhouse, vulgarity trumps politics."

Judge John K. Bush dissented. He argued the phrase "is purely political speech" that criticizes a public official and contains no vulgar words. "The liberty to criticize the president is not a freedom that stops at the schoolhouse door," he wrote.

## The two precedents at the center

The case turned on which of two Supreme Court precedents applies.

Under *Tinker v. Des Moines*, the landmark armband case from the late 1960s, schools may restrict student speech only if it would cause "substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities," as the 6th Circuit summarized it.

Under *Bethel School District v. Fraser* (1986), schools may ban "indecent, lewd, and vulgar speech" without showing any disruption.

The school argued the slogan fell under *Fraser* because everyone understands what it stands for. The students argued it is political speech protected under *Tinker*, and that the school's approach invites officials to censor based on their own politics.

## What each side argued at the Supreme Court

The students told the justices that "the First Amendment is intended to shield Americans from inconsistent enforcement based on government officials' whims and political leanings," according to Courthouse News.

The school district, represented by veteran Supreme Court lawyer Lisa Blatt, warned that accepting the students' argument would let students wear coded versions of explicit phrases. "Petitioners' approach would transform those nurseries of democracy into nurseries of debauchery," the district wrote.

The Supreme Court's refusal to hear a case does not mean it agrees with the lower court. It simply leaves that ruling in place.

## What it means for you

If you are a student in Michigan or another state covered by the 6th Circuit, this ruling is binding law: schools there can ban clothing with slogans they reasonably see as stand-ins for vulgar phrases, even when the message is political.

Elsewhere, the question stays open. Other appeals courts could rule differently, and the Supreme Court could take up a similar case in the future. *Tinker* still protects political speech at school that is not vulgar and does not substantially disrupt class.

If your school restricts something you wear or say, check your district's dress code and student handbook first. Those rules, plus the court precedents above, decide what is allowed.