Student Fights School's "PDA" Ban

13-year-old Ashley Highberger, an eighth-grader at Fossil Hill Middle School in Fort Worth is your normal average teenager. She goes to school every day, she hangs out with friends, and she's working on a petition to overturn a school policy that she has taken an aversion to. It seems that Ashley got into trouble at school for being a typical teenage girl - more specifically, she was holding hands with her friend after school.

"I got yelled at from this teacher for holding hands," Highberger said. "She was like, 'You've got to stop right now because that's PDA.' And I didn't think that was right."

The school's principal, David Hadley, said students are certainly allowed to hug if they're grieving or celebrating, but other than that, no public displays of affection are allowed. Hadley claims that it's a long-standing policy that is common in middle schools throughout Texas and the rest of the country.

"If two students are hugging or kissing, I mean obviously I don't think their parents want them -- would you want your children to be hugging and kissing at school without your knowledge?" Hadley said. "If we see a student holding hands or hugging in the hallway, typically a teacher will come up and just say 'No public displays of affection,' and the kids will understand and just stop."

Hugs Outlawed!


While I realize that it's been 30 years since I was in middle school, I just don't seem to recall any problem with hugging, kissing, or holding hands with your boyfriend or girlfriend, nor do I recall any parents freaking out over it. At least not in the public school system - parents that did tended to be the sort who sent their kids to private schools or Christian academies.

Apparently Ashley's mother feels the same way, and has encouraged her to collect signatures from her friends and fellow students on a petition to overturn the unwritten policy. Highberger said she has already collected 300 names and hopes to add signatures from every one of the 1,000 students enrolled.

"Most of them are pretty supportive and they think it's a really good idea," Highberger said. "They think it should be changed."

Hadley said only a handful of students each year are written up for violating the policy, but Highberger said she wants it to go and will take her fight clear to the Keller Independent School District Board if necessary.

Good for her! And kudos to Mom for teaching Ashley to fight back against the system when she senses unfair treatment. That's an important lesson in how things are supposed to work in America.