...Karissa Ramirez School Law and Policy Issues Professor Criscione Table of Contents Introduction Student free speech Teacher free expression Freedom of Expression Rights: The Tinker Standard The Fraser standard The Hazelwood standard Faculty free speech Conclusion Introduction Free speech in public schools is important because it allows students and teachers to speak their minds on school grounds, wear jewelry or buttons, wear t-shirts with messages or color their hair a certain way. However, with the protection of the First Amendment that is guaranteed by the United States Constitution, it is sometimes not enough for students and teachers since there are limits to their speech or expression. It is evident that there are issues that have impacted free speech in public schools such as student and teacher free expression, freedom of expression under the First Amendment including the Tinker, Frazer and Hazelwood standard, and faculty free speech; in dealing with these cases it has helped shape future decisions of public school officials. Student Free Speech Student free speech rights have advanced since the twentieth century because previously students had no First Amendment rights. On the other hand, sometimes student’s rights are reduced or eliminated in certain situations. The Supreme Court has also maintained that the First Amendment rights of minors can be restrained in regards to school safety. School officials are also allowed to prevent, “student expression that presents...
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...our personal of public life through religion or speech is what classifies this country as “Land of the Free”. Initially, This amendment gives us our basic right to express ourselves in whatever way we see fit, as long as it isn’t illegal. On December 15, 1791, This amendment along with nine other amendments was ratified to make up what is know as the bill of rights. This amendment came about at the genesis of America. Citizens of America wanted a guaranteed right to their basic freedoms. It was the layout of a new and free society. Of all the founding...
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...First Amendment Research Paper: Freedom of Speech During the time the Constitution was being written, freedom of speech was mainly focused on political speech. People wanted the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions about the government without being reprimanded or unheard. People feared that if the government was able to censor unfavorable viewpoints, they would eventually form a politically powerful population and oppress those who did not share the same mindset. Along with concerns about political speech, freedom of religious speech was a common desire. Previous incidents in English and Colonial history had occurred where certain religious views were prohibited and the people wanted to make sure that they were safe from the government’s restrictions. During his speech to the First Congress on June 8, 1789, James Madison proposed the Freedom of Speech idea to congress. He included several amendments that specifically addressed the concerns of Anti-Federalists that certain rights were not strongly protected by the Constitution. Madison said in his speech, “The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments.” Congress agreed with this idea and it became part of the first amendment. Madison continued with, “No state shall violate the equal rights of conscience, or of the press.” Congress did not like this and thought that only the federal government should be prohibited from restricting certain rights,...
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...assassinations and defamations. Some school officials have took matters in their own hands by suspending, expelling or even banning students from use of computers. Do school administrators have the right to forbid free expression when the online communication posts are created from a home PC and not school regulated computer equipment? Social-networking websites (MySpace, Facebook, Xanga and Friendster) are extremely popular for instance, "more than 90 million people of all ages are registered users of MySpace good portion of them teenagers. Now granted, majority of online communications is of clean material of favorite things and dislikes but occasionally there will be damaging statements about teachers or a list of classmates to which they want to hurt. Example, five students in Kansas were arrested in April 2006 for a plot to engage in a murderous spree on the seven-years anniversary of the infamous Columbine shootings. The United States House of Representatives passed The Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 which consists of public schools and libraries to block student access to commercial social-networking sites such as MySpace.com Some individuals do not favor this bill because it unfairly blocs learning applications and websites necessary for the students to learn and communicate. In addition, there is already an act that blocks content that is harmful to minors it is The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Students have freely expressed a variety of viewpoints...
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...Juneau-Douglas High School brought suit against Joseph Frederick, an 18-year-old high school senior for violating Frederick’s First Amendment rights of freedom of speech. Frederick displayed a banner on a public sidewalk across from his high school that read “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” The banner was viewed by the school’s student body when watching the Winter Olympics Torch Relay that was taking place throughout the city. Morse allowed the students to go outside and participate in the event, viewing the torch from both sides of the street. It was supervised by teachers and administrators and treated as a school field trip. Along with several students, Frederick held up his banner as the torch bearers approached so that he might get on national...
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...Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, 530 US 290 (2000), Decided June 19, 2000 Question Presented: Does the Santa Fe ISD's policy allowing student-led prayer at football games violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? Constitutional Provisions: Establishment Clause & Free Exercise Clause- 1st Amendment Facts of the Case: In 1995, the Does tried to put a restraining order on the ISD for violating the Establishment Clause at graduation ceremonies by allowing students to read Christian prayers from the stage. They also alleged that the ISD was encouraging students to join Baptist activities, berated those who held minority religious beliefs, gave out Gideon Bibles on school premises, and allowed students to read prayers over the public address system at games. The District...
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...Free speech zone in universities Many campuses congratulate themselves on their sociability when they establish small free-speech zones where political things can be scheduled. Once I read in the Washington Post year ago, Texas Tech’s 28,000 students had a free-speech gazebo(the name of the free speech zone) that was big. Zones limit such free speech because they require students to get their permission for activities from school heads beforehand, which can then lead to discrimination. There are three main notes mentioned in the Washington post: At First, these are actually no means the types of free speech violations we see on campus. A look at FIRE’s case history it shows the true extent of threats to free speech on campus and the many ways they do it themselves. Second, speech code ratings of more than 400 universities around the country will provide you with a fuller appreciation of the many types of policies that indulge on the free speech rights of students. Finally, most of my examples are with the cases at public universities, which are made by the First law. We may have seen many of these same cases; however, at the private universities many of which may not be legally made by the First law, still make more promises of free speech to their students in their policies. Private institutions are controlled by these promises which courts in many states have said as strict contracts. In California private secular colleges are required by law to afford students the same...
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...The Controversies of Protected and Unprotected Speech The Controversies of Protected and Unprotected Speech Without the ability to express free and open ideas and exchange those thoughts with other individuals, our country’s representative democracy would never have survived. After abandoning the British monarchy, the Founders desired an open democracy free of tyranny and control of information. In order to protect our civilian’s basic principle of freeness of speech, the Founders established the freedoms of speech and the press otherwise known as the First Amendment. Within the United States Constitution, the first amendment contains the right to freedom of speech. This idea has become the core basis and significance of the American society and democracy. Within this amendment, an individual has the right to express their opposing views compared to the popular majority regarding specific areas of speech, religion and expression. More specifically, the first amendment includes the right to freely express one’s religion as well as grant every citizen the right to express any religious belief without government involvement favoring any particular side of religion. This amendment allows and ensures that an individual is allowed to speak their mind and question their higher authorities when the opportunity arises. Moreover, free and open debate is highly favorable and viewed as an essential component for determining the genuineness of opposing and competing...
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...The limitation of free speech on college campuses Many people believe in freedom of speech. Freedom of speech usually exist in democratic countries including the United States of America. Furthermore, The U.S, also known as “Free country” have legalized the freedom of speech in every institution such as school, college, or church. There are many people including myself who are against freedom of speech in specific sectors such as school and college. On the other hand, the University of Missouri believe in the power of free speech even though in some cases it can be offensive. Why should free speech be limited on campuses? When should free speech be limited on campuses? Who should take responsibility of free speech on campuses? Erika Christakis, the the Yale Associate House Matter states, “Free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society” (“Campus adults: protect free speech” 1) and the authorities of the university of Missouri adopted that slogan. I believe that free speech should be limited in the university of Missouri in order to reduce the effects of creating an offensive, demeaning, intimidating, and hostile environment for other students on campus. First, I am against the total freedom of speech in the university of Missouri because it can create an offensive environment on campus. The offense can be directed against other students because of their race, color, religion, sex orientation, age, or disability. The recent events...
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...C.Schenck v. United States (1919) D. During World war 1 Schenck sent circulars to draftees that stated that the draft was a horrible wrong and it was supported by the capitalist system. The circulars pushed that draftees should not let intimidation control their decision and states that they should do only peaceful things to stop it including trying to get the conscription act repealed by petitioning against it. This lead to Schenck being prosecuted for conspiracy to breach the espionage act by trying to cause disobedience in the military and to hinder recruitment. E. Is what Schenck did protected by free speech in the first amendment or is he breaching the espionage act? F.The court ruled that schenck was not protected due to the court believing...
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...The limitation of free speech on college campuses Many people believe in freedom of speech. Freedom of speech usually exist in democratic countries including the United States of America. Furthermore, The U.S, also known as “Free country” have legalized the freedom of speech in every institution such as school, college, or church. There are many people including myself who are against freedom of speech in specific sectors such as school and college. On the other hand, the University of Missouri believe in the power of free speech even though in some cases it can be offensive. Why should free speech be limited on campuses? When should free speech be limited on campuses? Who should take responsibility of free speech on campuses? Erika Christakis, the the Yale Associate House Matter states, “Free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society” (“Campus adults: protect free speech” 1) and the authorities of the university of Missouri adopted that slogan. I believe that free speech should be limited in the university of Missouri in order to reduce the effects of creating an offensive, demeaning, intimidating, and hostile environment for other students on campus. First, I am against the total freedom of speech in the university of Missouri because it can create an offensive environment on campus. The offense can be directed against other students because of their race, color, religion, sex orientation, age, or disability. The recent events...
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...case, is does a banning of wearing armbands in public school, as symbolic protest, violate the students' freedom of speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment? FACTS: John and Marybeth Tinker attended a public school in Des Moines, Iowa in 1965. On December 1965 the Tinkers held a meeting in the house of their friend named Christopher Eckhardt. The group decided on wearing black wristbands throughout the holiday season to show their disagreement with the Vietnam war and their support of the Christmas Truce called for by Senator Robert F. Kennedy. They also decided to fast on December 16th and on New Years Eve. The principals of the Des Moines Schools learned of this plan and met on December 14th to create a policy that stated school children wearing an armband would be asked to take it off or be suspended. Marybeth Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt were suspended from school on December 16th for refusing to remove the armbands. The following day John Tinker was also suspended for the same reason. The children were suspended from school until after January 1, 1966 when their protest had been planned to end. The case began on November 12th of 1968. The Tinkers and Christopher Eckhart filed charges against the state of Iowa: The Tinkers stated that their suspension resulted out of legal expressions. They believed they were suspended for simply stating their opinions on the war. They believed this action taken by the school and stated was a direct violation of their...
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...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. Students that have the opportunity and greats benefits of attending public school systems in America have rights that are protected by the twenty-seven Amendments. However, some of the students have the complaint as to not having these freedoms such as, freedom of speech, student protesting during school hours, and the act of your child being questioned and/or being searched at school. The government and United...
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...Student Freedoms Tiffany Smith EDU 520 Dr. Kijanka April 29, 2012 2 Introduction One could define a leader as a way through which a person or group influences others to obtain certain goals and objectives, which in turn improves the coherency and efficiency of the group. The interesting thing is that very often when we define a leader, one thinks of one person who takes on all the responsibility and eventually all the glory, which is not so. No one can be successful without the help of others, it is a team effort. It is safe to say that a special person that leads people have special attributes that set them apart. Regardless if you are in higher education, an organization or corporate America, leadership does result in instruction, commitment and a deep concern for what is right; as well as for the best interest of others. They are modeled on a daily basis, tested and proven in times of trial and adversity. When it comes to freedom of expression in public schools, without question, Supreme Court decisions concerning student’s rights have greatly affected school policies. But do these decisions affect school policy just by drawing the line between the student’s rights, which the Constitution protects and those that it does not? Many studies of court’s rulings have revealed that the justice not only defines the meaning of the Constitution in the school context, but they often introduce their own views concerning pertinent educational policy. Some suggestions...
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...“When the public’s right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.” quoted Christopher Dodd. For many, many years, freedom of the press has been a notably controversial topic to be discussed. Some believe that the public has a right to know, while others waver that journalists should be limited on what they can write about. The real question is, should journalists be allowed the right of freedom of the press or should their writing be able to be censored if the topic is viewed as unacceptable? Although governments might have national security concerns or politicians might prefer to not listen to dissenting viewpoints, the assault on the freedom of...
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