There have been many cases with the Supreme Court and rights of students. Many of the cases in which took place in the topics of self expression, freedom of speech, discipline, religion, and more. Some of the following are situation where students brought their cases to the Supreme Court in order to protect their rights.
Freedom of Speech 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.
Prayer at School - Freedom of Religion
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Several of those were claimed to be “forced” prayer, or prayer brought on by the school. Those cases being Wallace v. Jaffree, Lee v. Weisman, and Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe. There have even been cases where people claimed that saying “under God” in the Pledge of Alligiance was a way of unconstitutional religion being established (Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow). According to the 1st Amendment, we are given the right to freedom of religion. Even as students, we can worship as we
On Monday July 22, 1965 Mary Beth Tinker and her siblings sat in front of a judge and jury to plead their case. Scared and shaking she sat next to her attorney trying to muster up bavery. Her brother, John, was the first to give his testimony. John testified that he had made it through several periods where none of his classmates or any of the faculty had said anything to him about the black armband. It was not until after lunch that John was asked to go to the principal 's office where he refused to remove his band and wass promptly removed from school.
The group of students returned to school after the Christmas break without armbands. Nonetheless, they wore black clothing for the remainder of the school year. Through their parents, the students filed a suit. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agreed to help with the lawsuit. On September 1, 1966, Chief Judge Roy Stephenson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa upheld the prohibition against armbands (Iannacci, 2017).
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
This case Tinker v. Des Moines Schools was a very interesting case argued in 1968. A lawsuit was filed against the school after three students, Two of which in high school and one in middle school were suspended from school. The school suspended the students for wearing black armbands protesting the Vietnam war. Two other students wore armbands, but were in elementary school and weren't suspended. The students were fifteen year old John Tinker, sixteen year old Christopher Eckhardt, and thirteen year old Mary Beth Tinker.
When the children showed up to the school with the black armbands on the school faculty asked them to remove it. If the students refused to remove the armband they were sent home and suspended until they agreed to take the armbands off. The students did not return to school
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).
The wore black armbands in a protest against the government policies during the Vietnam war. The Tinkers tries to fight the suspension with the district court but the district court was in favor with the school so the Thinkers had to take it further. The next step was to take it to the supreme court. The tinkers took it to the Supreme court and the majority vote wat that it was unconstitutional for the school to
One must have evidence that a disturbance has been make. Fear cannot take away freedom. In one of the court cases mentioned, it says, “the vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools,” (13). This is saying that our constitutional freedoms are most valuable in American school communities. The freedom of expression is one of the reasons that makes America a superior country.
(United States Courts) During the Bethel v. Fraser case the case stated that the rights of students are not as “coextensive”, meaning they are not the same as the Freedom of Speech rights adults have. (United States Courts) In the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case they said that the students rights to Freedom of Speech depended on the environment they were in. The Court looked over the Morse v. Frederick case and considered the environment the student was in, took into consideration that Frederick was indeed a student so he did not have much of a right as an adult did to Freedom of Speech, and if the banner disrupted the school or school related activity in any type of
Armband protesters suspended from school Everyone is aware of the first amendment which states that citizens should have free speech. In the Tinker v. Des Moines case, the right was violated. What actually happened in the Tinker v. Des Moines case? There were a brother and sister named John and Mary Beth Tinker who went to a Des Moines school. The Tinkers went to school one day wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam war.
“Feigning Free Speech on Campus” is a 2012 op-ed article written by Greg Lukianoff, an attorney with a passion for First Amendment Rights. Lukianoff brings up points that are just as valid today as they were 4 years ago. Youth voter participation is low and it is impossible to ignore the effects of educational institutions hampering inquiry and expression of the students. The main claim to this issue is not simply that colleges engage in some degree of free speech repression, but that the methods implied on campuses are no less that any other institution that controls and influences public awareness of political issues. Lukianoff is successful and effective in his appeal to his target audience of young adults.
Per 3 Goss Vs. Lopez Supreme Court Case On October 15, 1975 Nine students were suspended from Central High School from Columbus, Ohio. They had destroyed school property and disrupting students from learning and were suspended for 10 days. One of the students amoung them was Dwight Lopez.
In 1951, the following prayer was written that was intended to be recited each morning as part of the regents’ Statement of Moral and Spiritual Training in the Schools: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.” Because the regents made the recitation of the prayer each day entirely optional to the school boards and the individual families of students, many New York school districts shunned the prayer because of their eclectic student bodies. Not only was the state religiously and ethnically diverse, but religious instruction in state schools was declared unconstitutional by the 1948 Supreme Court decision in the McCollum vs. Board of Education case. Because of the constantly increasing controversy about religious teaching in public schools, at least 90% of New York districts were not using the prayer by the late 1950s. Then, in 1958, five parents (of varying religions and ethnicities) of students within the district filed a lawsuit to stop the use of the prayer in their schools.
There are many views and opinions of the state of the United States on this subject. It has long been a puzzling issue that never seems to seize. America should have religious freedom, because it is a constitutional right to Americans. Prayer in school, gay marriage, and governmental control, are among some of the main issues in this topic.
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