Free Speech and Expression Rights of Students

There has always been a fundamental tension between public school students and educational authorities in determining the parameters of acceptable student behavior. Particularly volatile controversies have focused on identifying when school personnel may restrict student verbal, symbolic, or written expression. In light of this tension, this entry focuses on these disputes and the legal principles that the courts apply in seeking resolution of differences.

Most of the disputes over student expression focus on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that, in part, prohibits Congress from enacting laws abridging the freedoms of speech or press. First Amendment restrictions on Congress are applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, which the U.S. Supreme Court interprets as incorporating the Bill of Rights and protecting these freedoms against state interference.

In the United States, free expression rights are perhaps the most highly valued individual liberties. The government, including public school boards, must have a compelling justification to curtail citizens' freedom of expression. Free expression rights extend to minority views as well as to the right to remain silent, including the placement of a cross on public property by the Ku Klux Klan, the burning of the American flag by political protesters, and refusal to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.

For almost four decades, the Supreme Court has recognized that students do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter public schools. Moreover, the Court has noted that public schools provide the appropriate environment for children to acquire an understanding of and respect for these rights. However, the Court has also stated that students' constitutional rights in public schools are not automatically the same as those of adults in other settings and may be limited by reasonable policies that [Page 358]take into consideration the special circumstances of the educational environment. This entry explores the scope of students' First Amendment rights pertaining to private and school-sponsored expression, including literature distribution, student clubs, and appearance.