Explain with examples the extent to which student speech is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's right to free speech

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Student speech has given rise to a number of free speech cases. For example, in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, the Court ruled that a school policy that prohibited students from wearing antiwar armbands was unconstitutional because the students' message was political and was not disruptive to normal school activities. In this case, the Court famously stated that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. Subsequently, the Court ruled in Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser that speech that would otherwise be protected can be restricted within the school context. Fraser gave a speech at a school assembly that contained a graphic and extended sexual metaphor. The Court held that, although the speech would have been protected if given in the public forum, the fact that the speech was delivered at school allowed for administrators to censor the speech and restrict Fraser's right to give the speech. Most recently, relying upon their rulings in Tinker and Fraser, the Court ruled in Morse v. Frederick that student speech advocating drug use during a school function can constitutionally be restricted. In Morse v. Frederick, a student who gave a speech and unfurled a banner advocating drug use during a school function was not protected by the First Amendment. This was because drug use was advocated in a school function, and it was not protected speech.