The Rights of an American Public School Student

Freedom of expression, a cornerstone of American Democracy and key part of the First Amendment, has long been the foundation for political activism, protest, and the sharing of ideals and opinions. Without, it would mean a society without Black Lives Matter or debates between Clinton and Trump supporters; on a more general scale, there would be no criticism of the government, escape from conformity, or even change. Freedom of expression also transcends societal and racial prejudices as one’s race, religion, or sexual orientation doesn’t factor into their ability to speak their mind. What many people may fail to realize is that age also isn’t a restriction on freedom of expression, and public school isn’t a place where this constitutional right suddenly dissipates. While it’s true that school may often feel like a far-off escape from the issues and dealings of the “outside” world, the line between the “safe-haven” that is public school and its outer surroundings is less of a distinct boundary and more of a blurred fixture. The First Amendment rights of the American people, no matter how old, don’t simply stop when one gets to the doors of their local high school.

While some constitutional rights, like the First Amendment, may apply to students today, it isn’t something to take for granted as it wasn’t always that way. In 1965, in Des Moines, Iowa, the Tinker children and a family friend decided to violate a school policy of wearing armbands and wore black armbands to protest the ongoing Vietnam war. The result was an immediate removal of the armbands and a suspension until the students agreed to respect the policy, but the consequences would be farther reaching than the administration or students could imagine. The Tinker family decided to take the school to court, and thus came the revolutionary Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District Supreme Court case. It was ruled that the First Amendment applied in public schools and thus the administration would have to have a constitutional reason for any regulation of free speech.

There are limits, though, to the extent of First Amendment rights within schools. Several court cases such as Bethel School District v. Fraser, in which a student was disciplined for his usage of sexual innuendos in a speech to nominate his classmate for student body Vice President, and Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, in which the administration was allowed to remove an article containing divorce and teen pregnancy from the school publication, have decreased the scope of coverage for these rights. Freedom of expression is allowed to be violated within public schools when it becomes disruptive to the learning process and impedes the right of others to obtain an education. It is important, as students of Scituate High School, to understand the limit and reach of our rights as citizens of the United States as well as members of the public school system. The First Amendment does not become a myth as soon as one comes to Scituate High for the day, but one must understand the kind of protections offered to a student under the Constitution in order to exercise the rights they were promised and not come in violation with the limits of these rights.