The First Amendment at School

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The First Amendment at School
Notes source Jteacher.com
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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
people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the
Government for redress of grievances.
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Tinker vs. Des Moines 1969
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Three public school students in Des
Moines, Iowa, decided to wear black arm bands to
protest the involvement of the U.S. in the
Vietnam war. When the school district officials
found out about their plan, they ordered them NOT
to wear the arm bands.
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But the students chose to exercise their freedom
of expression, and they wore the armbands against
the express instructions of their school
administration. They were suspended.
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The case went to court, and eventually ended up
in the Supreme Court. In presenting the majority
opinion, Justice Abe Fortas said
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First Amendment rights, applied in light of the
special characteristics of the school
environment, are available to teachers and
students...
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... It can hardly be argued that either students
or teachers shed their constitutional rights to
freedom of speech or expression at the
schoolhouse gate.
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So the Supreme Court held that students and
teachers have First Amendment rights and they do
not give up these rights when they enter school.
Although this case dealt with freedom of speech,
it was expanded to include other First Amendment
freedoms, including freedom of the press.
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Tinker v. Des Moines established that students
were free to express themselves so long as the
expression did not disrupt the school day. This
is the Tinker Standard.