Tucson Unified School District
Date: 2005
Region: North America
Subject: Nudity
Medium: Photography
Artist: Students at Tucson High Magnet School
Confronting Bodies: Tucson High Magnet School officials, Tucson Unified School District officials, and surrounding community
Dates of Action: April - May 2005
Location: Tucson, Arizona, USA
Description of Artwork: Photos by students in the high school's photography class that show partial nudity.
The Incident: Jerry Halfmann, a 28-year veteran photo teacher at the high school, was forcibly removed from his classroom and placed on leave for six weeks as officials examined the "questionable" photos his students had taken. Halfmann had put his students' works on display, some of which contained partial nudity, and apparently, someone made a complaint to school and district officials.
Results of Incident: While Halfmann was on leave, the high school initiated a new policy for photography students, which mandated that subjects in all photographs had to comply with the school dress code. Officials also reviewed students' portfolios for "questionable" material.
Halfmann was eventually reinstated to his position. The school district is now in the process of forming a committee that will craft guidelines for reviewing students' artworks.
Source: The Arizona Daily Star, May 11, 2005
