The First Amendment And Freedom Of Speech In Schools

Alexander Tresis (2018) claimed that the courts lacked consistency in protecting the First Amendment rights of students. This is exhibited by the various precedence cases which were confusing, with the courts treating students as citizens with absolute rights of speech to considering them as individuals who were immature and incapable of thinking on their own. Could it be true? If we look at the court decisions from Tinker v. Des Moines, with Tinker winning (7-2), to the Board of Education Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico, with Pico barely winning (5-4), and finally, to the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, with the students losing (5-3), some trends could be seen indeed. From Tinker v. Des Moines, the plaintiffs were granted the right to wear armbands as a form of anti-war protest, with the Supreme Court declaring that students do not likely shed their rights upon entering the gates of the school (Shackelford, 2014). However, in the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court ruled that the school principal did not violate the First Amendment rights of the student journalists when he excluded the controversial contents from publishing in the school

The First Amendment is designed to protect all citizens by giving them the right to express themselves in different ways. In doing so, we still have to be careful on how we do it. Students have the right to express themselves as long as it does not cause any disruption. In my school district, we abides by the First Amendment by not forbidding all mention of religion in the school system (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). The only part that is prohibited is the advancement or inhibition of religion (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015). My school district feels that there’s nothing unconstitutional about using religious subjects or materials as long as it is in compliance to the neutrality of the education program (Pamlico County Board of Education, 2015).

School boards often do not adequately justify their reasons for denying High School Students their first amendment rights. Usually, the

Censorship cases often bring about debates over students’ first amendment rights. Students’ first amendment rights are important to preserve so that students can not be excluded from meaningful works or literature. It is understandable for the government to design educational plans as a way to get its voice into classrooms, but “the truth-promoting function of the First Amendment provides no reason, however, to question the right of students to explore a variety of ideas and perspectives, and to form and express ideas of their own” (Brown, 1994, p. 30). Schools already place a restriction on religious material or material addressing current political controversy (Brown, 1994).

Citizens in America are born with a various amount of rights. One of these rights include the freedom of speech and expression. However, school administrators have the ability to restrict a student’s expression. The Supreme Court Cases ‘Bethel School District v. Fraser’ and ‘Frederick V. Morse’ gave schools the right for the administrators to discipline children when they see fit. Students should be able to express themselves in any way without fearing that their school administrators will discipline

Everyone in America should be guaranteed the freedom of speech granted by The Constitution. In 1988, the court ruled in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier that schools \could limit freedom of speech in school if they had “educational concerns” (Jacobs). The problem is that “educational concerns” is too vague and school districts are able to use this as a loophole to get away with removing articles that do not need to be removed. Often, the concern is based on perception and image more than anything else. Angela Riley’s article “20 years later: Teachers reflect on Supreme Court’s Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier ruling” quotes Frank LoMonte, executive director of

The decision in this case seems to have left public school students’ free speech rights in an ambiguous state. The Justices in support of the majority opinion—Justices Thomas, Alito, Kennedy, and Scalia—were thus

Freedom of Expression is a right that all Americans can joy on a daily basis, now imagine if it were a controlled right? That doesn’t make it a right, more so something that we can use when the government says so. In November of 1968, 4 students organized a silent protest against the US policies in Vietnam, which ended with suspension from their local schools. The issue was brought up in court, which led to split consensus. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was that the expression of speech couldn’t be prohibited unless it was a disruption and harmed the rights of others. The dissent opinion stated that if freedom of speech was without a limit to an extent, who says it could lead to school being a platform for the exercise of free speech instead of education. The argument came to the conclusion of defining the rights and freedom of speech for children in school. I agree with the majority opinion, seeing the freedom of expression shouldn’t be controlled and such.

The case Morse v. Frederick was a very controversial case involving freedom of speech in the school and at school sponsored events. A High School in Juneau, Alaska consented to a school supervised release from

The First Amendment, in substance, does not provide absolute protection for all forms of speech, press, assembly, petition and association. It is not absolute. As a balance for interest of speech against competing government interest, an evolution of balancing tests were created and modified by the Supreme Court hence the Free Speech Clause.

The First Amendment was adopted in 1791. It states that “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (Wikipedia, 2016) The freedom of speech documented in the First Amendment is not only a constitutional protection, but also an inevitable part of democratic government and independence, which are essential values in our society. “Censorship,” according to the ACLU, “… is the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive," happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others”. (ACLU, 2016) That is why the American citizen’s right to free speech should be held as the highest virtue and any censorship of freedom of speech should not be allowed, but only respected. Not to mention that censorship is unconstitutional.

The Unites States is known for our revolutionary thinking and just legal system. Our constitution establishes fundamental laws and guarantees basic rights for citizens in our national government. I find the First Amendment of the constitution quite interesting. It states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This law establishes a standard for guaranteeing ones right of expression and free speech without prosecution from the law. Freedom of speech has been a subject of discussion for many years. Since democracy was established to provide safety and rights, the First Amendment has been one of the most important rights in our constitution. In other countries, they have certain levels of tolerance when it comes to executing this right. Sometimes freedom of speech can become more harmful than helpful and many people have been vocal on their opinion whether or not it should be limited in certain circumstances. This amendment was put in place because prior to our free nation, being legally prosecuting for you own expression of religion or preference in politics was not uncommon. This revolutionary idea of immunity from persecution, created a society that was more tolerant towards other cultures, religions and traditions. This tolerance and freedom that the right gave us proved to be largely beneficial for a society as a whole. Even though we are granted this privilege many people aren’t’ as lucky to exercise, we must be aware that this right can also be seen as a double-edged sword, that can create problems and outcries if others feel their personal liberties aren’t being honored in the same regard. This right may seem simple and self-explanatory, but there are common misconceptions and challenges that us as a democracy face. Even though freedom of speech is a defining and fundamental right in our country, it’s components are largely controversial at times.

Freedom of speech is more than just words, it is posters, petitions, rallies, protests, and more. This lets opinions be shared and spread to make a difference in the world. The problem is that in schools there is a limit on the amount of freedom of speech students can have. How are students supposed to feel like they have a voice when they are being told that they can only speak of certain topics? By what means could student be educated on their rights like the First Amendment if they cannot have full access to that right at all times? Students are brought together by freedom of speech, schools should not be stopping that. It is essential that freedom of speech in schools should not be limited because it gives students a voice, it educates them on their rights, and it brings students together.

Prior to the landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court, New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 105 S. Ct. 733, 83 L. Ed. 2d 720 (1985), the clarity on how search and seizures applied to students in public schools were unclear. A particular case from 1969 can shed some light regarding on how the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution defines student rights in public schools. In Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503, 89 S. Ct. 733; 21 L. Ed. 2d 731 (1969), the court found that:

As an educator, it is extremely important to know educational policies. On top of the knowledge, it is also imperative to respect the rights granted to students in the democratic society. Attached above is an article, published by the first amendment center, regarding how the first amendment is employed within public schools. The first topic in the article is titled speaking out in school. Here I learned that the school cannot limit the student’s freedom of speech, unless it is hindering the environment to learn, and even then, there is a lot of grey area. Here the school must be able to provide substantial evidence that the student’s writing, speech, or expression would cause great disruption. This also ties directly into school dress code and uniforms required by the school corporation. Students, in many