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8/14/2019 Student Expression, Dr. W.A. Kritsonis
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/student-expression-dr-wa-kritsonis 1/20
Student ExpressionWilliam Allan Kritsonis, PhD
8/14/2019 Student Expression, Dr. W.A. Kritsonis
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What is Student Expression?
• The 1st Amendment guarantees our
right to free expression and free
association, which means that the
government does not have the right to
forbid us from speaking and writing
what we like. This includes students in
public schools, students DO NOT giveup their first amendment right at the
school door.
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What do the Courts Say?
• 1969 Tinker v. Des
Moines Independent
Community School
District the Supreme
court held that publicschool students have
the right to express
themselves orally, in
writing, leaflets, buttonsarmbands and t-shirts.
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So Can Students Say Anything
they Want?
• No there are exceptions to theruling and ways around fullblown student expression
• Students can expressthemselves as long asadministrators feel that it does
not “materially andsubstantially” disrupt classes.
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Hazelwood School District v
Kuhlmeier
• Public school
administrators can
censor student
speech in officialschool publications
or activities if the
official think
something said isbeing “harmful”or
inappropriate”.
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Common Issues in Student
Expression
• SchoolNewspapers
• Dress Code• Library Books
• Pledge of
Allegiance• Student opinion
of teachers
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School Newspapers
• If it is a completely student-run paper that is handed out in school, theschool may not censor what is said or stop you from handing it out as longas the paper is not “indecent” and it isnot “materially and substantially”
disruptive of school activities.
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Remember!!!
• Topics can be deemed
controversial but important to
students such as sexeducation, condoms, drug,
sexual orientation, etc. Thecourts says that is it is
“inappropriate or harmful” it
can be censored!
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Dress Code• Can be
enforced aslong as they are
notdiscriminatoryor unreasonable,almost no dresscode cases areoverturned.
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Library Books
• 1982 Island Trees v.
Pico the Supreme
Court rules that
school boards can’tremove books from
a school library
because they don’t
agree with thecontent.
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Pledge Of Allegiance
• Student DO NOT
HAVE to say the
Pledge of
Allegiance, however students must
remain silent during
the reciting of the
pledge.
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Student Teacher Opinion
• Students are welcometo have their ownopinion of teachershowever it can’t becommunicated in a
school sponsoredpublication or event,Printing something or saying somethinguntrue can lead to libel!
Be aware of out of school expression withwebsite such asratemyteacher.com
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Laws to Know
• Remember as administratorsthe law! It is your guide in
knowing if a student isprotected or not. Now letssee what you would do in
the following scenarios!
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Can students
wear clothes withprofanity?
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NO!
• No, public school officials can prohibitstudents from wearing shirts with profanemessages. In its 1986 decisionBethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, the U.S.Supreme Court wrote: “Surely, it is a highlyappropriate function of public schooleducation to prohibit the use of vulgar andoffensive terms in public discourse.” The
Court explained that “schools must teach byexample the shared values of a civilizedsocial order.”
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Can I wear purple hair to
school?
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Yes and No!
• Courts are much divided on this issue. Among thefederal appeals courts, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 8thcircuits have seemed receptive to students’ claims of free-expression rights concerning their hair. But the 3rd,
5th, 6th, 9th and 10th circuits have seemed unreceptive.• Many cases involving student hair today deal not with
length but color. For example, a high school student fromVirginia sued his school district in federal court after school officials suspended him for having blue hair. A
federal judge reinstated the student, finding a violation of his constitutional rights.
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Can political messages be
worn on clothing?
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Yes!
• Usually they are protected in dress-code casesas long as they are not conveyed in a vulgar or lewd fashion. InTinker v. Des Moines Independent Community Scho
(1969), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that publicschool students could wear black armbands toschool to protest U.S. involvement in theVietnam. The Court noted that the students wereengaging in a form of symbolic speech that was
“akin to pure speech.” In later decisions, courtshave recognized that students have moreprotection when they engage in politicalexpression
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Bottom Line
• Know your rights as an administrator
• Know your students rights
• Know your State and Federal laws!• Know your district policies!
• Do not act unless you Know!!!