Right to Freedom of Dress

Several t-shirts worn by middle/high school students have been banned in recent weeks, the latest coming with a 10-day suspension of the student wearing it.

School officials state that the suspension is justified to protect the student who opened himself up to attack from other students as well as to limit distraction and disturbance in the classroom. I don't think that summarily dismissing the first amendment rights of free speech is the right way to "protect him". I wonder what the consequence would have been if a student had been wearing a red, white, and blue t-shirt with a message like "Get Osama" on it? I doubt that scenario would have resulted in a suspension. It would seem that our right to express ourselves are limited by what popular opinion deems acceptable.