Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Freedom of Speech in Public Schools
Although freedom of speech is a staple of American society, there are definitely some limits to how far freedom of speech can reach. An example of this is freedom of speech in public schools. Both in universities and in K-12 schools, freedom of speech is restricted, whether it be preventing people from wearing certain provocative clothing, preventing people from using offensive language, or preventing hate speech. However, I think that schools have gone too far in trying to prevent freedom of speech. The case Tinker v. Des Moines (https://www.oyez.org/cases/1968/21), which occurred in the 1960s, was a case involving freedom of speech in public schools. A group of students at the high school in Des Moines, Iowa, decided to wear black armbands to school in order to show their stance that was against the Vietnam War. The school threatened to suspend the students if they did not take off their armbands, and the students sued the school. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students, stating that a restriction of speech only holds when it "materially and substantially interferes" with how the school operates. Thus, today, when schools restrict free speech, they must do so only when the speech could harm how the school operates and the learning environment the school is trying to create. I believe that clothing and symbols rarely disrupt the learning environment because they are not as open and noticeable as speech can be, except in the cases where they are so outlandish or astray from social norms. However, many schools ban clothes that have any references to alcohol or other drugs, which does not seem like it would "materially and substantially interfere" with how a school operates. I do think that schools can prevent excessive offensive language (although suspending someone for a few instances of offensive language can be too much) and hate speech because I see the arguments for why this speech can get out of hand and disrupt the learning environment. However, speech as inconspicuous as clothing or symbols should rarely be restricted in public schools.
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I think this topic is really interesting. I wonder if suspending a student for explicit language or some other type of discouraged usage of their right to free speech could be argued as cruel and unusual punishment. If education is so important that freedom of speech can be stopped so as to not interfere with it, then why can schools force a break in that same education as punishment for a student exercising their freedom? That was a confusing question but I don't really know how to word it better.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how schools should be able to restrict "excessive offensive language" and hate speech and it got me thinking about how the 1st Amendment deals with bullying. To what extend is bullying – inside and outside of school – protected under the 1st Amendment? As a form of offensive hate speech, bullying has the potential to effect how schools run(on the basis of student interaction and mental health), so logically I thought schools would be able to restrict this form of expression. I did some research and found the following article: https://ncac.org/resource/ncac-analysis-the-first-amendment-and-school-policies-on-harassment-and-bullying. It states that in the case Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education(1999), the court ruled that verbal harassment has to be "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, that it effectively bars the victims’s access to an educational opportunity or benefit" in order for schools to restrict 1st Amendment rights of students. Further, it must occur "under the operations" of the school for them to have jurisdiction over the student's rights. Considering the potential mental health risks of harassment – especially for emotionally developing youth – it surprised me that there weren't more protections against harassment in schools. Given the serious danger of mental health issues – specifically those caused by bullying – shouldn't there be more protections against this aggressive, offensive speech? Or would it be too difficult to restrict harassment without also restricting valid 1st Amendment liberties?
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this (really good) post, I immediately started thinking about dress codes at school and even school uniforms. I know many of us have written a persuasive essay on how school uniforms and strict dress codes "prevent freedom of expression" and whatnot. That being said, I doubt that many of us have gone into the actual constitutional rights behind this. Take Saint Francis High for example. Their dress code is so strict that they can't have any writing on their arms or legs, boys' hair has to be shorter than collar length and completely shaven, and for girls all shirts have to have sleeves, even ones under other shirts. Source : http://www.sfhs.com/uploaded/11_Parents/2016-17/Documents_and_PDFs/2016-2017_Dress_Code_July_Mailing_with_Liturgy_Wardrobe_MT.pdf.
ReplyDeletePeople can argue that this is taking away their freedom of expression. However, the school's reasons are because they are mimicking a Christian environment. Does this count as freedom of religion. How do we know where to draw the line? Does it make a difference that this is a private school and that these students are signing up for this?