First Amendment Law

Protect Your Right to Free Speech in School

Speech in schools can be regulated by schools and school districts. To the degree that it is acceptable in the setting of schools, the First Amendment does, nevertheless, guarantee students' rights to free expression. The Supreme Court of the United States' rulings on matters regarding student speech freedom are covered below.

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The First Amendment in School

Students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," according to the Supreme Court. The rights of adults in other situations do not necessarily follow from the constitutional rights of kids in public schools, though.

In other words, schools have the authority to control some speech even though equivalent speech outside of schools would not be subject to government censorship. Students' rights "must be applied in light of the unique qualities of the school environment," according to the law.

Political Speech

The main Supreme Court decision concerning free speech in schools, known as Tinker, concerned political speech. In one instance, when the city's school administrators discovered that students intended to wear black armbands to class in protest of the Vietnam War, they issued a rule forbidding pupils from donning armbands at school. Despite being punished, students who wore the armbands to class anyway. In court, they contested the suspension, and the Supreme Court ruled that their First Amendment rights had been infringed.

According to the Tinker rule, a school district cannot forbid a student from silently and passively expressing their political views so long as they are not accompanied by any disorder or disturbance and they do not get in the way of academic progress or other students' rights to privacy and safety.

The Supreme Court also outlined the power of the school in Tinker. "A student's rights do not only apply during class time. If he does so without "materially and substantially interfering with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school" and without infringing on the rights of others, he is free to express his opinions while on the campus, in the cafeteria, on the playing field, or during authorized hours elsewhere on the premises. This includes opinions on contentious issues like the Vietnam War.

On the other hand, behavior by the student that, for any reason, substantially interrupts classwork, includes significant disturbance, or invades the rights of others is penalized, whether it occurs in class or outside of it.

Lewd and Vulgar Speech

The Supreme Court has ruled that outrageously obscene and vulgar communication in schools is typically not protected by the First Amendment freedom of expression, in contrast to political speech.

Speech That Promotes Drug Use

A high school administrator witnessed some of her pupils hoist a banner reading "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS" at a sanctioned and approved event. The principal gave the pupils instructions to take down the banner after determining that it advocated the use of illicit drugs. One pupil was suspended for his refusal.

The kid sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983 after trying to get his suspension overturned via the school system without success. The school district had not infringed on the student's First Amendment rights, the Supreme Court said. Therefore, it is likely that student expression objecting to government policy on illicit substances is protected by the First Amendment.

School-Sponsored Student Speech

Student speech that is supported by the school or that carries the seal of the institution is governed by a separate norm. In Hazelwood, a high school's administration disallowed the publication of articles regarding student pregnancies and student parent divorces in the school's official newspaper. Three newspaper staff members (Journalism II students) filed a lawsuit against the educational system.

This restriction would be applicable to, among other places, school-sponsored publications including yearbooks, newspapers, and others.

General Student Speech

The current condition of the law concerning First Amendment freedom of expression is as follows, pending a Supreme Court decision on another student speech case:

• Educators may exercise editorial control over the speech's substance and style when it is sponsored by the school, provided that their decisions are logically connected to valid educational issues.
• Speech that might be properly understood as encouraging the use of illicit drugs may be prohibited by the school.
• In accordance with the school district's jurisdiction to establish what constitutes proper in-school speech, the school may prohibit offensively obscene and vulgar remarks.
• In all other instances of a student's own speech, the school may not forbid the expression of a specific idea unless there is proof that doing so will prevent a material and significant interference with academics or discipline.

Contact a School Law Attorney

First Amendment law has many moving components, relies heavily on evidence, and is always evolving. If you think that you or your kid is being subjected to First Amendment speech violations at school, you should speak with a lawyer who can inform you of your legal options based on the current state of the law. Although not all student expression is protected by the First Amendment, it is crucial to maintain speech that the Constitution forbids being silenced.