Opinion: First Amendment scholar finds fault with high school ban on U.S. flag T-shirts

A First Amendment scholar criticizes a federal court ruling the wearing of American flag T-shirts were disruptive and exempt from First Amendment protections. David L. Hudson Jr. argues that the court was wrong in applying the “heckler’s veto” concept to the case that if the listeners to speech create a disturbance and silence a speaker, [...]

California: Students to appeal decision in ban of American flag T-shirts

A federal judge ruled that Live Oak High School administrators in Morgan Hill were with their rights to ban the wearing of American flag T-shirts during Cinco de Mayo. The judge determined that the administration had met the substantial disruption standard of the Supreme Court decision, Tinker v. De Moines, and had acted to ensure [...]

Pennsylvania schools want U.S. Supreme Court to clarify issues involving student speech on Internet

Two Pennsylvania school districts have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of decisions holding that the schools violated the First Amendment rights of students by punishing them for criticizing their principals on the social media. There are several issues the school want addressed including whether the schools can regulate off-campus speech including vulgarities [...]

Online posting: Student speech subject to greater regulation after Supreme Court refuses to hear case

The U.S. Supreme Court left standing a lower court ruling supporting the punishment of a high school student for criticizing a decision by school officials in a vulgar online posting. By ruling not to hear the case, the Court sidestepped an opportunity to establish guidelines for regulation of student speech in social media forums. -db [...]

Student appeals case involving online speech to U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide if it will hear a case from West Virginia in which a student was disciplined for making hurtful comments about another student on MySpace. Citing Tinker v. Des Moines, the administration said the comments could cause disruption at school. The student’s petition asks the Court to decide if the [...]

Supreme Court denies student right to wear Confederate flag T-shirt

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a Kentucky high school student  prevented from wearing a Confederate flag T-shirt to school. A lower court had ruled that the school was justified in the interests of school safety in banning the T-shirt. The student claimed the flag was a part of his southern [...]

Opinion: Tennessee high school principal tramples student’s free speech rights over gay rights T-shirt

When a student not gay himself tried to wear a T-shirt standing up for gay friends and advocating for a Gay-Straight Alliance at his school, the principal barged into his classroom to punish him in violation of the student’s free speech rights according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The student had defied the principal’s [...]

Nevada student loses free speech case over threatening text messages

A federal judge ruled that school officials could expel a Nevada high school student for sending messages threatening female students. The judge rejected claims that the student’s rights were violated when he was punished for off-campus speech and cited the Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines that established the “substantial disruption standard.” He wrote, [...]

Student free speech takes another pasting in ruling on Internet postings

A federal appeals court ruled that students can be punished at school for their postings on MySpace even if the postings are made off campus in the students’ own time. The court found that the postings were disruptive to the school according to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines. Frank LoMonte, [...]

Free speech: High school girls’ risque photos subject of federal suit

Two sophomore girls are suing their Indiana school district in federal court after they were disciplined for posting online photos of themselves posing with phallic lollipops. Both the girls and the district are basing their pleas on the Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines, the district arguing that the photos appeal to prurient interests [...]

Washington: High school student suspended for abandoning school-approved speech

A high school sophomore from Edmonds, Washington, running for student government, was suspended for a day and a half after he substituted his own speech for a school-approved one. The student had urged students to boycott the election since student government officers were puppets of the teachers and had no real power. The boy’s mother [...]

High school student insulting teacher online gets suspension from school expunged

San Francisco Chronicle January 29, 2010 By Bob Egelko SACRAMENTO COUNTY – A high school sophomore suspended for calling his teacher a “fat ass” on Facebook had the infraction erased from his record after his principal conceded that the posting was not disruptive to the school environment. The American Civil Liberties Union had argued that [...]

Federal appeals court rejects student’s free speech claim over racial slur

Citing the likelihood of substantial disruption, the 2nd Circuit ruled that school authorities acted corrrectly in suspending a student for making a racial slur after a Hispanic student had died in a motorcycle accident. -db First Amendment Center Analysis October 20, 2010 By David L. Hudson Jr. East Hampton, N.Y., public school officials were entitled [...]

Santa Monica mayor kicks activist out of council meeting for alleged disruptive behavior

The Santa Monica mayor asked the police to remove an activist from the city council meeting after he refused to put down a sign saying the city had committed human rights violations. -db The Lookout News October 14, 2010 By Jonathan Friedman The City Council Chambers were briefly evacuated at Tuesday night’s council meeting while [...]

UC Irvine: Muslim Student Union suspended for year for disrupting Israel ambassador’s speech

The Muslim Student Union has appealed University of California Irvine’s suspension of their group for one year, saying that the suspension would create a chilling effect on expression of ideas and hurt their efforts to combat marginalization. -db The Orange County Register June 15, 2010 By Deepa Bharath and Ellyn Pak IRVINE, Calif.– UC Irvine’s [...]

Family sues claiming rosary isn’t gang attire

The family of a New York seventh grader sued in federal court after the boy was suspended for wearing a rosary the school authorities claimed was beaded jewelry and thereby gang-related. -db Courthouse News Service June 3, 2010 By Barbara Leonard ALBANY, N.Y. (CN) – A Schenectady public school suspended a boy from seventh grade [...]

Federal judge find fifth-graders drawing threatening

Reviewing evidence that a fifth-grader had a disciplinary record and was prone to violent expressions, a federal judge ruled that school officials met legal standards in suspending the boy. The judge said the boy’s history and actions met the “substantial disruption” test from Tinker v. Des Moines. -db First Amendment Center Analysis June 2, 2010 [...]

Free speech: High school admiistrator sends students home for wearing American flag

When some Live Oak High School students wore flags on their clothing during Cinco de Mayo day to show their patriotism and their support of legal immigration, an assistant principal feared violence and asked the boys to wear the clothes inside out or leave campus. To mark the Mexican holiday, many Latino students were wearing [...]

Florida high school student booted from honor society for Facebook page criticizing school

First Amendment experts say a high school student may have been wrongly kicked out of the honor society since his comments on Facebook criticizing the school would normally be considered protected speech. -db The Tampa Tribune February 3, 2010 By Ronnie Blair WESLEY CHAPEL, Flor. – Two Florida experts in First Amendment law say a [...]

Forty-year-old Supreme Court decision should still support free expression in schools

A First Amendment Center scholar says that the Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines is still being ignored by public school administrators as they attempt to limit student speech and expression even though it does not cause disruption. -DB First Amendment Center Opinion November 23,2009 By David L. Hudson Jr. Forty years ago, the [...]

Federal court bars display of Confederate flag in Texas high school

A federal circuit court held that a Texas high school could ban clothing displaying the Confederate flag given a history of racial violence and discord in the school, over 50  incidents since 2002. -DB Courthouse News Service October 14, 2009 By Annie Youderian (CN) – Citing a history of racial tension, the 5th Circuit upheld [...]