For many kids, school provides their first opportunity to publically test boundaries and express themselves. Maybe your teenager wants to organize a school rally to promote an unpopular position in your community. Perhaps your son wants to wear a t-shirt that announces his support for a controversial political candidate. Or maybe your daughter has written a blog posting that criticizes a teacher. Can school administrators try to stifle your child's right to free speech?
The to the US Constitution allows you the freedom to speak, write and meet freely with others. In other words, the government cannot censor you. The First Amendment also gives students the right to freely express themselves at a public school. (Because private and parochial schools don't receive taxpayer money, these schools can place greater restrictions on a student's right to free speech.)
The US Supreme Court has said public school officials can't censor you or your children unless officials have a "reasonable expectation" that your expression will cause a material and substantial disruption of school activities, or invade the rights of others.
But there are some limits to a student's right to express himself or herself. For example, a student can't stage a sit-in protest that blocks the school's entrance or use obscene language that would be offensive to some students hearing it.
Some public school officials have tried to punish students who make provocative political comments or joke about school violence, claiming the student has made a terrorist threat. But to be considered a threat, the comments must:
- Be intended to be seen as a threat by other people
- Be so clear and convincing so as to cause someone else to believe you intend to carry out your threat
- Cause other students to reasonably fear for their safety
Dress CodesStudents often communicate their opinions through their clothes. But more and more schools are regulating what students can wear with dress code and uniform rules.
State laws about public school dress codes vary considerably, so it's best to contact your local American Civil Liberties Union chapter to learn about laws in your state. In some states, for example, dress codes and hair codes can only be written to prevent safety hazards. In some other states, more restrictive dress codes are permitted unless they are really unreasonable or discriminatory.
Cyber SpeechIt's increasingly common for students to criticize school policies and officials on the Internet. The Supreme Court has decided that Internet speech has the same constitutional protections as opinions expressed in a newspaper or other written publication.
Your rights do vary, however, depending on whether you're expressing yourself online on your own time or as part of a public school project. If you're using your own computer at home, you have a lot more leeway in what you can say. But you still can't say anything that you know (or should know) is false and could injure someone's reputation. That might be libel or slander, for which you can be sued.
If you express yourself online as part of a class, your speech has less protection, and you may even be restricted from talking about your offsite cyber project while at school. If you access the Internet on school-owned computers, your browsing may be restricted by filtering software designed to protect minors from inappropriate cyber content. The federal Children's Internet Protection Act requires public schools and libraries to use filtering software if they receive federal funding for Internet installation. Many states have also passed similar laws.
School Newspapers & ZinesStudents are allowed to hand out an independently-produced newspaper or leaflet in school, as long as it isn't indecent, and it doesn't materially and substantially disrupt school activities. But the school can place limits on the time, place and manner in which a student hands out written material. If students are putting out an official school paper, school officials can censure the paper if they think the content is inappropriate or harmful, even if it isn't obscene or disruptive.
Pledge of AllegianceThe Supreme Court has ruled that forcing people to say something they don't want to say is also a violation of the First Amendment. So no one can make a student recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or even require you to stand while others are reciting the Pledge.
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