First Amendment In Schools

First Amendment rights to freedom of speech are regulated in various ways in many different variations of institutions. For instance, public school administrations have broad standards created by the Supreme Court to use when there is a need to suppress student speech believed too distracting, offensive, presenting a harmful image for the school, or even promoting illegal drug use. Though broad, a few cases do provide guidance when looking at student speech, and how there are times when the regulation content is deemed constitutional.
A. TINKER V. DES MOINES SCHOOL DISTRICT (1969)
In 1965, the Tinker family protested the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands. The children wore the armbands to school as well. The principle set in place a policy
The banner read “Bong Hits 4 Jesus,” and was suspended for ten days. The justification given by the principle was based on the banner promoting illegal drugs. As a result, Frederick filed suit stating his First Amendment rights had been violated. The first proceeding, the District court ruled in favor of the principal, sighting no violation of Frederick’s First Amendment rights. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the ruling, citing Tinker, where First Amendment rights are protected, however, there are exception such as when the speech disrupts school functions. However, because the banner was proclaiming a message, the speech was not deemed a disturbance, thus the punishment was ruled unconstitutional (551 U.S.
When looking at Tinker, the Court ushered in a criterion where school administrations have the right to control student’s First Amendment rights for free speech, when the speech has the potential to cause a disruption or interference towards class learning and events (393 U.S. 503). Under Frasier, an exception was introduced that would allow school administrations to control student speech if the content was deemed to be obscene and vulgar thus being offensive to the student body and staff. Ultimately, the exception is allowed without there being an explicit disruption from the speech content (478 U.S. 675). The decision in Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court’s decision officiated a new standard that would allow regulation of student speech if the administration viewed the content as representing the school (484 U.S. 260). Lastly, in Morse, the Supreme Court held that student speech could be restricted if the content has the effect of endorsing illegal drug use (551 U.S. 393). Thus, there are at least four standards that the Supreme Court may use when considering student speech when dealing with public school, however, the same rules do not always apply to college