Freedom of Speech, Petition, and Privacy in School
Written by Michael Mangin
Published on December 20, 2010

What do the words of the first and fourth amendment actually mean? We have basic rights set forth by the Constitution of the United States. These right apply to everyone born, living, and residing in the United States.The question is: how far do the amendments go in school. Many cases have occurred where students have challenged these amendments. Everyone born in the United States is entitled to the rights established by the Constitution. Can school restrict these rights or even abolish these in schools? Do the words: "liberty and justice for all" really exist? Students have protested in school, even walked out. Is this allowed? Can Administration punish a student for exercising their rights? As a student, have you experienced this in any way? Why do schools restrict the information that you and teachers present? Some school policies are just ridiculous and endanger individual freedoms, yet they still continue. Students have stood up for their rights in school and so have teachers. It is not right for schools to control students' lives, rights, and property. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has actually a division on students' rights. It is true that the youth is the most powerful group. They are the most influential because they determine this country's future. This becomes an issue because schools make rules that may or may not limit a student's freedoms. Schools also do not have to prove intent, which makes it worse. This paper will discuss past cases where students have fought back.

Many cases have come to the Supreme Court that involves the issues of free speech, petition and privacy. First, Tinker Vs. Des Moines School District. John F. Tinker, 15 years old, and Christopher Eckhardt, 16 years old, attended high schools in Des Moines, Iowa. Mary Beth Tinker, John's sister, was a 13-year-old student in junior high school. On December 16, 1965, the students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Administrators created a policy that any student wearing an armband to school would be asked to remove it. If the student refused he would be suspended until he returned without the armband. The students refused and were suspended. The issue was: do students have a constitutional right to wear armbands in school as a form of symbolic speech to protest the Vietnam War? The Supreme Court decided that the First Amendment rights applied because neither "students nor teachers shed their rights at the school house gate." This case led to an era of permissiveness affecting areas of students' rights to speech and expresses themselves. The precedent that was set was titled 393 US 503 (1969). Second, New Jersey vs. T.L.O. in which a teacher at Piscataway High School in Middlesex County, New Jersey, discovered two girls smoking in a lavatory. The girls were sent to the principle's office, and one of the girls admitted to smoking. The other, T.L.O., denied the accusations, and the principle demanded to see her purse. He found a pack of cigarettes, but kept searching. He found, money, marijuana, a pipe, plastic bags, letters, a journal with names, and rolling papers. The principles search of the purse violated the Fourth Amendment; T. L. O. moved to suppress the evidence found in her purse as well as her confession, which was tainted by the allegedly unlawful search. The issue at hand: Can schools search the personal possessions of students? When taken to the state Supreme Court, the search was established as not reasonable and therefore a violation of the fourth amendment. However, when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, they deemed the search as justifiable on grounds of suspicion of crime being committed. The significance of this case was that "The special needs of the school environment require assessment of the legality of such searches against a standard less exacting than that of probable cause and therefore schools do not need not need to meet the criteria of 'probable cause', the standard required by the Fourth Amendment." The precedent set is titled 469 U.S. 325 (1985) Third, Bethel vs. Fraser which involved a student at Bethel High School in Pierce County, Washington on April 26, 1983. Matthew Fraser delivered a speech nominating a fellow student for student elective office. In his speech, he referred to his candidate in terms of an elaborate and explicit sexual metaphor. Fraser was called in and suspended for three days for "substantially interfering with the educational process, including the use of obscene, profane language or gestures." The issue is: Do the First and Fourteenth Amendments protect a student's right to deliver a vulgar and offensive speech at a school assembly, in violation of a school disciplinary rule? The decision of the lower courts was yes. However, the U.S. Supreme Court had a different approach. They stated that a high school assembly or classroom is no place for a sexually explicit monologue directed towards an unsuspecting audience of teenage students . . . schools must teach by example the shared values of a civilized social order . . . The schools . . . may determine that the essential lessons of civil, mature conduct cannot be conveyed in a school that tolerates lewd, indecent, or offensive speech and conduct." The precedent set by this case is 478 U.S. 675 (1986).

Other cases that are relevant to the issue include Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier in which a student for a newspaper published two articles that were deemed as inappropriate, and the principle deleted them. In May 1983, Robert E. Reynolds, the school principal, received the pages proofs for the May 13 issue. Reynolds found two of the articles in the issue to be inappropriate, and ordered that the pages on which the articles appeared be withheld from publication. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two other former Hazelwood East students brought the case to court. The two articles included teen pregnancy and divorced families. The issue: Did the principal's deletion of the articles violate the students' rights under the First Amendment? The U.S. Supreme Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to promote particular types of student speech. Schools must be able to set high standards for student speech, and that schools retained the right to refuse to sponsor speech. The precedent set was titled 484 U.S. 260 (1988). On June 25, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court also decided in the case of Safford Unifed School District v Redding (2009). In this case, a young 13 year old girl was strip searched on the basis of a tip that she had ibuprofen with her. The Supreme Court ruled that the search was unreasonable and indecent. Therefore, it was a violation of her fourth amendment. The precedent set by this case was 557 U.S. ___ (2009). In the U.S. Supreme Court case, Norwalk Teachers' Association vs. Board of Education, teachers petitioned and striked when salary demands were not met the teachers were threatened of losing their jobs. The issue was Do teachers have the right to organize and/or strike? The decision was: "no good reason appears why public employees should not organize as a labor, and conduct negotiations with the Board. But, if the organization is for the purpose of demanding recognition and collective bargaining, demands must be kept within legal bounds." The reasoning behind this was: "School established by and run for all people, not for the benefit of any person or group. The strike is contravention of this principle. The interest of the public is paramount and that a strike by public employees is in effect a strike against the government and hence is against public policy." The precedent that was set is titled 138 Conn,269, 83 A.2d 482, 1951.

Other non-detailed cases that have to do with freedom of speech in school consists of the following:Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, Edwards v. Aguillard, Epperson v. Arkansas, Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle, Pickering v. Board of Education , Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. These are all U.S. Supreme Court cases. The following are all lower court cases that involve the Constitutional Rights granted to us as students: Adler v. Duval, Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School District, Boring v. Buncombe Bd. of Educ.,Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education, Burnside v. Byars, Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board, Chambers v. Babbitt, Chandler v. McMinnville School Dist., Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, Adler v. Duval, Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School District, Boring v. Buncombe Bd. of Educ., Boroff v. Van Wert City Board of Education, Burnside v. Byars, Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board, Chambers v. Babbitt, Chandler v. McMinnville School Dist., Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, Henerey v. City of St. Charles, J.S. v. Bethlehem Area School District, Karr v. Schmidt, Klein v. Smith, Lacks v. Ferguson Reorganized School District R-2, Lavine v. Blaine School District, Littlefield v. Forney Independent School District, Melton v. Young, Pyle v. School Committee of South Hadley, Saxe v. State College Area School District, Scoville v. Board of Education of Joliet Township High School District 204, Settle v. Dickson County School Board, Settle v. Dickson County School Board, Thomas v. Board of Ed. v. Granville Cent. Sch. Dist., Virgil v. School Board of Columbia County, West v. Derby Unified School District No. 260.

The largest laws that relate to the issue is, of course, the United States Constitution. Which is included in the first amendment and the fourth amendment. The right to freedom of speech and protest. The right to be secured in your person, place, and things. These are the top precedents and laws of all. They are at a Federal level, but above the Federal level. They govern all laws and federal levels of government. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads: "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." The fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Here are a few questions that impact schools today and reflect on schools in general:
Does the First Amendment apply to public school?
Yes, but to a certain degree
Do outside groups have the right to distribute materials on campus?
Adults outside the school have no reason to distribute on school property.
May students distribute materials such as religious and political material at school?
Yes, right to free speech and expression can be used. This also includes such items as protest items.
May a school punish a student for dying their hair or wearing long hair?
The issue is divided among the lower courts. So, this depends on where the students live
Can a school limit and edit school newspapers based on content?
The answer depends. The school has the right to edit the newspaper to express the school opinion.
Do teachers shed their first amendment rights as a government employee?
There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, they do not.
Can a school punish a teacher for expressing an opinion or touching on a matter of public concern?
The teacher must keep his/her job position in mind. This, in turn, could have an adverse affect. Teachers must express an opinion on an issue that addresses the particular matter asserted. The opinion must be rationally be based on facts taught in school.
Do school Administrates have authority to have you remove a button, armband, or pin?
Schools still have the right to regulate content of speech and protest.
Can schools create speech codes on campus?
Yes, schools have the right to restrict certain content. Such as language, harassment, obscenity, and in some cases political and religious views.
If you wore a Confederate flag to school, could you get in trouble?
Although it is symbolic speech, there are cases where students have been punished for doing so. Administrators always use the ground "disruption of the educational environment."

The reflections of these questions vary. It is interesting to find what schools can do and can't do. These amendments effect everyone, including school. However, they are limited to a great degree than they normally are to everyone else. The rights set forth in first and fourth Amendment are restricted in schools. Students are under the supervision of governmental authority. Therefore, school Administration controls the content to which you produce, and can use. School district to not have to prove intent, nor do they have to have probable cause to search. As soon as you come on school property, you are now part of the school. They also control the content that is said, used, stated, etc. at school or in school facilities. To explain it further, if schools don't like it, then you aren't using it. Justice Fortas says it best: "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate." However, is this statement true if schools are special exceptions to the rules? If schools do not need warrants, nor probable cause, then the forth amendment is gone in schools. If they can regulate what you say and how you say it. "schools must be able to set high standards for student speech disseminated under their auspices, and that schools retained the right to refuse to sponsor speech." What is meant by this statement? This is always disputed today, and in the future. One of the best practical examples today of freedom of protest being affected is: One day, this year, at Coronado High School, a student came to school with tape on their mouth. The tape was to symbolize being against abortion. The Administration told the student they had to remove it or they will be suspended. These cases effect us today. They effect teachers, students, parents, community.

Many of the policies at school could be seen as violation of rights. The idea that Administration can search your vehicle at anytime they want just because it is on property. The idea that a teacher can now mark you off on a paper because you stated your opinion. Better yet, a presentation that includes your own views, opinions, or even religion is cut down because of that reason. Why is this like this? These are all questions that we must ask for the future of education. Students were born in the United States and should have the same rights inside and outside school. Maybe this will change in the future, and maybe it won't. Either way, it is a very important matter that should be addressed. We need to stand up, as students and teachers, for our rights before we turn into robots and just listen to everything we are told. We need to think about the future of teaching, and education as a whole. How is it being affected by this. Teachers should consider the rights of students and stop acting like there is no such thing as rights. Why seize an iPod when that is personal property of that student. He is only effecting his own education. Why search a student for weapons just because you want to. They claim it is for safety, but is it really? I may seem like an extremist, but I am using my right to free speech! My right to express myself! This is a big issue in the United States. Inside and outside school. We are slowly watching this occur in our government and education system. It is best for students to speak out and say what they think without feeling they will be punished. The job of a teacher is to teach, and provide you with your own sense of well being. The job of the government, which includes school, is to protect rights. To protect your right to use speech and petition. Last thought, petition, stand up, know your rights, say something before the education system itself is doomed!

Works Cited
"Bethel v. Fraser@Everything2.com." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://everything2.com/title/Bethel+v.+Fraser>.

First Amendment 101. First Amendment Schools. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.
<http://www.firstamendmentschools.org/firstamendment101/>.

"Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument." The Oyez Project | Build 6. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1987/1987_86_836>.

"New Jersey v. T.L.O." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://everything2.com/title/New+Jersey+v.+T.L.O.>.

"Norwalk Teachers' Association v. Board of Education@Everything2.com." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://everything2.com/title/Norwalk+Teachers%2527+Association+v.+Board+of+Education>.
"Norwalk Teachers' Association v. Board of Education@Everything2.com." Welcome to Everything@Everything2.com. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://everything2.com/title/Norwalk+Teachers%2527+Association+v.+Board+of+Education>.

"Safford Unified School District v. Redding , U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument." The Oyez Project | Build 6. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2008/2008_08_479>.

"Tinker v. Des Moines, Landmark Supreme Court Cases." Landmark Supreme Court Cases - HOME. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://www.landmarkcases.org/tinker/home.html>.

Originally written for Ms. Hock's Teacher Cadet Honors class at Coronado High School