The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court against Dearborn High School for violating the First Amendment rights of their students, according to reports.

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Bretton Barber, a junior, wore a T-shirt to school on Feb. 17 which displayed a photograph of President George W. Bush with the caption "International Terrorist."

School administrators told Barber to turn the shirt inside out or go home; Barber went home for the day. He has not worn the shirt since the incident, Local 4 reported.

"The school administration could have chosen to use the safe environment of an educational institution for debate and discussion and to create an opportunity to talk about the issue. Unfortunately, they chose to ban political speech," said Kary Moss, ACLU of Michigan Executive Director. "The Supreme Court has made clear that students don't lose their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gates," Moss added.

The school's principal claimed that the shirt promoted terrorism and would cause a disruption, Local 4 reported.

The ACLU believes there is strong evidence that the school reacted to the T-shirt because of their disagreement with its message.

"The shirt was meant to emphasize the message "no war" and I feel that I've been successful in getting that message out," Barber said. "I think it's especially important for students who may be asked to fight at some point, to have the right to say how we feel."

Barber plans to pursue a career in constitutional law after graduating from high school.