The Importance Of Censorship In Schools

In the United States, students have slightly different rights in school than outside of school. While outside of school, students are considered and viewed as normal members of society. However, when in school, different things are expected of students. That is why students have slightly different rights in school than outside. The supreme court has taken many cases related to students that cover all areas of their rights. This paper will cover three main areas of student rights: censorship, privacy, and speech.
Students' censorship rights are one of the rights that are different from the outside world. Unlike the news, which can't be censored at all in the United States, school papers can be censored under certain circumstances. For example,
Normally, schools have the authority to perform searches on students that they believe have committed a crime or an act that is not allowed in the school. The supreme court case "New Jersey v. T.L.O." is an example of reduced privacy in schools. In this case a fourteen year old girl named Terry was caught smoking in the bathroom of a school by a teacher. The principal was notified, and shortly after, he questioned Terry and searched through her purse. The pack of cigarettes was found along with rolling papers and drugs. Terry confessed and was found guilty of possession. Terry appealed because she believed the principal's actions violated her fourth amendment rights. The case was taken to the supreme court, the justices favored the school's side in a 6-3 decision. According to the court, the school needs to keep a setting where students can feel safe and learn. Students should expect privacy, but if there is reasonable suspicion to them committing a crime, they can be searched. Since the teacher witnessed Terry smoke the cigarette, the initial search did not violate any rights. Also, because the rolling papers were found during the first search, the extra searching for the drugs was lawful as well (Jacobs, 2008). While there are these 'suspicion searches,' there is another type of searching allowed in schools. This type of search is called a 'suspicionless search' and allows
Schools cannot sponsor student prayer at any public events to protect rights to religion stated in the first amendment. An example of this is the Supreme Court case "Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe." In this case Students at a school in Santa Fe elected a student to read a prayer over the speakers at every home game. Many people anonymously sued the school saying that it violated the Establishment Clause—a limitation on congress that disallows establishing an official religion or favoring one religion over others. When the case was taken to the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, the justices favored the side of the people, not the school. Since the actions of the students were sponsored by the school and the students used the schools loudspeakers to say a prayer, it was no longer private speech, but religious speech sponsored by a government agency. The court also noted that while participation to the games was a choice, some students are forced to go to games. Also, the students that do go to the games are forced to participate in religious activity, which violates the Establishment Clause by favoring the religion used by the speaker. While a student led, school sponsored prayer at a school sporting event violates the first amendment, a prayer among players of a school sport is allowed in it does not include the coach or any other school officials (Jacobs, 2008). While