1st Amendment Wrangling
There have been many supreme and district court cases that involve the first amendment. Your First Amendment rights are a heavily debated topic. Students, in particular, walk a very fine line regard to their free speech. Schools, students, and the federal government are still trying to figure out where they stand. Within this essay there are three main topics that I wish to cover; they are as follows Dress Code, Student Free Speech, and Internet Use. Every case within these topics is argued with the First Amendment in hand, though not all of them conclude the same. I hope you enjoy educating yourself on this tedious topic!
Dress Code
When you think of dress code in schools, the 1969 case “Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District” comes to mind. It is by far the most cited and discussed
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Marineau” in 2006. The case began in May 2004, a student of Williamstown Middle School named Zachary Guiles wore a shirt that talks down on President George Bush. You can see the shirt he wore to the right. The school suspended Zachary for wearing the shirt. Once he was allowed back in school, the school told him that he could wear the shirt if he wished but he would have to tape over certain pictures in including a martini glass, lines of cocaine, straws, and razor blades. These were all references to substance abuse problems President Bush is said to have had as a younger man. The images violated the school 's dress code policy, which prohibited all images of drugs, or anything related to drugs. Zachary felt this violated his first amendment rights by censoring his messages. Zachary took the issue to court; the case eventually moved to the Second Circuit Court. The court decided that even though the shirt demonstrated drugs and alcohol, the First and Fourteenth Amendments protected Zachary. This case only strengthens student free speech by bypassing the school 's dress
In the past students did not know the guidelines of what they could say at school,but the students at Des Moines brought attention to the rights of every student at school(Blacher 10). Things changed in the 1960's many students wore black armbands to school as a way of protesting the Vietnam War (Blacher 11).The Des Moines school banned them from wearing their armbands(“Case summary:Tinker”1). Mary Beth and John Tinker believed it was their constitutional right to be able to express how they feel(“Case summary:Tinker”1). They decided to take their case to the courts. case went all the way to the supreme court(“Case summary:Tinker”1).
The students were sent home and suspended until they returned to school without the armbands. The District Court originally ruled that the school authorities’ fear of disturbance was reasonable enough to warrant the suspension of the students. The Supreme Court however, stated that fear is not enough to overcome an individual’s right to freedom
As an adult that has went through an educational program every official involved should have known that strip searching an eighth grade girl wasn’t right. I feel that every official involved in the strip search should have been held liable and at least hope that they were terminated by the school district. Implications I feel that this case set certain limitations on strip searches in the school setting. This case set clear guidelines on how an administrator should perform a search and whether or not the areas searched or justifiable for the situation.
As seen in previous cases like Tinker vs. Des Moines, students have the right to political say, unless it causes disruption at school of students are promoting something that goes against the law. In the case of Tinker v Des Moines the students were not promoting anything illegal but showed their thought on the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands (Tinker). Argued in court by Kenneth W. Starr in the Morse v. Frederick case, he gave the idea that the foundation for school censorship was the case of Tinker v. Des Moines (Morse). The Justices responded back saying, that case was a different scenario as the students weren 't doing anything against the law while Frederick was encouraging the use of marijuana which was illegal (Morse).
Samantha Kubota’s “School Punished Teen Girl for Working Out in Sports Bra in 100-degree Texas Heat, ACLU Say” (2023) tells the story of a young female athlete. A teenage girl who participates in cross country and track at her high school got in trouble for wearing a sports bra during practice in 100-degree heat while her male counterparts were practicing shirtless. Furthermore, since G.H. wore a sports bra, she was denied the award of being the top runner on the girls’ cross-country team; this award would have been crucial for college recruiting and applications. The girl, who identifies by her initials G.H., requested help from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU sent a letter to her high school stating the coaches, District officials, and employees violated the Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX of the Education Amendments by reinforcing a sex-stereotyped dress code and treating the girls’ and boys’ cross-country teams differently.
May it Please the Court, The Court case Alex v. Upper Arlington School District, a student named Alex refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in the early hours of school. He was told countless times by teachers to stand for the flag. Alex refused and was sent to the office and received a suspension for insubordination. This action violated Alex’s First Amendment rights, going against his freedom of speech and religion.
The Tinker versus Des Moines court case involved three minors, John Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker and Christopher Eckhart. These three wore black armbands to their schools to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended following this action. Circuit courts and the Court of Appeals in Iowa ruled that the black armbands were inappropriate attire for school. This case was then brought to a higher-up court. Eventually, this case was brought before the Supreme Court.
In 1965, a group of students who wore a black band on their arm to protest the war in Vietnam. The faculty in the school requested them to remove the band and when they refused, the district suspended the students. When they took the case to Supreme Court and they sided with the students stating students and teachers cannot "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. " The court did not grant the a right to “unlimited” self expression and said that if the expression of the student does not disrupt others in school, it can be done, worn, or followed through with in any way that can be done in that manner.
The First Amendment in a School Setting The first amendment is a constitutional right inherited by every American citizen, but how far is it truly reaching? At school, it has always been a wonder to me about the rights we students have amongst our peers. While some students use the first amendment inappropriately at school, a student has the right to voice their opinion under the protection of the first amendment. This is because, as decided by the Supreme Court, students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate” (Oyez, 1) therefore giving us this, some-what, shield of protection.
I can’t fully express anything that I want and its due to the security and general welfare of other fellow peers. A lot of class work has to be censored and cant be used for the sole purpose of education. We too, students, are persons under the American Constitution . So so this extent, i can say that our government has altered the first amendment.
The cases that are most controversial often deal with when people think that something is wrong. For example, a very heavily debated issue currently is LGBTQIA+ topics and rights and whether they should be allowed in books in schools and in schools in general, whether or not gay marriage should be legal and many other things(see more related cases in the article "Notable First Amendment Court Cases"). The first amendment isn’t going too far when it allows those who are part of the LGBTQIA+ to express themselves through their freedoms just as other people get to and not having to worry about whether their books or thoughts or who they marry will be allowed because, after all, they are people just like all every other
Being able to choose what to wear is a right students are allowed to have, but schools are constantly trying to change that. Religious wear is not being accepted as part of the dress code causing problems between the school and the student whose identity is being taken away from them along with the boy who could not stand trying to be like everyone and ended his own life. Down to the basic right as a human to experience life just as anyone else has. There are many more reason as to why schools should allow students to dress how they want to, but these three reasons provide all of the points needed. Overall, schools should get rid of the dress codes enforced and allow the students to explore their
In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District upheld the right to freedom of speech of students to protest the Vietnam war by wearing black armbands. The case explained the problem that “students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” (Student) As students, we are free to express ourselves through what we wear. As students, we have every right to proclaim our beliefs
Over the last 20 years, many schools have shifted away from fairly unregulated student dress codes to more stringent dress codes, with some schools implementing voluntary or mandatory school uniforms. There are several positions on the dress code issue, each of which have their own persuasive arguments to support them, which can be evaluated to examine their validity. One position in favor of implementing dress codes is that these standards can improve student safety and perhaps even student performance at school. There are variations on this position that favor strict standards on what students can wear, while others want to implement school uniforms in public schools. The opposing view is that students should not be subject to any dress codes on the grounds that they restrict students' freedom of expression, and that they may place unfair cost burdens on poor families.
According to izquotes.com, William O. Douglas once said, “Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” The issue of student expression in schools has been a topic that has been highly discussed. Even though students do have free speech rights, school administrators still have the ability to restrict student expression to help maintain discipline and prevent the school environment from being disrupted. Student expression in schools should be restricted because of students beliefs, their clothing, and also their speech.