As a member of the "Church of Body Modification," a high school student in Johnston County, North Carolina won't be asked to remove a stud in her nose to attend school, after a settlement was reached with the school board earlier this week to drop its appeal of Judge Malcolm Howard's ruling back in October.
[Ariana] Iacono’s wearing of the nose stud, Judge Howard ruled, was protected by her First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion.“While the Johnston County Board of Education strongly disagrees with the judge’s decision, the board has no reason to believe that the judge will change his view of the case as the litigation progresses,” Sessoms said in the statement.“In light of this assessment, and after carefully considering the substantial and inevitable expense and disruption of the continued litigation, the board has chosen to resolve this matter out of court rather than pursue a lengthy process of hearings, depositions and likely appeals.”
You can read the settlement agreement here (pdf) (via Religion Clause). Among other things, school officials agree that "in making determinations regarding exemptions to the Student Dress Code and Appearance policy, the principal or designee shall not attempt to determine whether the religious beliefs are valid but only whether they are sincerely held." Previously, the school also determined whether a religious belief was "central to religious doctrine." This settlement replaces that language.
