Sidney and Susan have found themselves in a volatile situation. They seem to already have contemplated the fact that this could get out of control if not handled correctly. With the students wearing shirts that have offensive language on them, the administration should make a decision to act upon this with more than a desire to avoid discomforting circumstances, but to act in loco parentis, and guide students to becoming respectable members of society.
With many different options, what is the correct course of action to keep the students in class, and the parents out of the board room citing issues such as First Amendment free speech suppression and denial of due process? Is allowing the students to wear the shirts the right thing? Administration
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The text “GOODBYE RHS: BURN IN HELL”, is an offensive statement. According to Roth v. United States: “Material may be determined to be obscene… if it is on the whole offensive to the average person under contemporary community standards” (Roth). “BURN IN HELL” is considered to be a very antagonistic statement. By the definition set forth in Roth, this would be offensive, therefore disruptive by its very nature, which can connect this scenario to the Tinker case. The opinion of the Court in Tinker v. Des Moines was read by Justice Fortas: “Clearly, the prohibition of expression of one particular opinion, at least without evidence that it is necessary to avoid material and substantial interference with schoolwork or discipline, is not constitutionally permissible” …show more content…
Student rights are more arbitrary though, and are situational. “The non-absolute nature of free speech and expression can be circumscribed for society, in general, as follows; (1) Incitement of disruption and breach of peace; (2) Defamation; (3) True threats of violence and fighting words; and (4) Obscenity” (Alexander 409). Because of the “fighting words”, or threatening language of: “BURN IN HELL”, the prohibition of the shirts would not violate the student’s First Amendment rights. Those words could also be categorized as obscenity. Fraiser sets in place guidelines that reinforce the fact that free speech is not guaranteed. This case’s decision stated that the school has been charged with inoculating the doctrine of “habits and manners of civility as values”… “indispensible to the practice of self-government” (Alexander
After referring the student to a counselor, the student was suspended for the potential of a significant disruption. The issue with this controversial case was that the student wrote the poem from a first-person basis and the words did not present any physical harm or threat to other students. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in favor of the school district because the writing presented the likelihood or potential that a suicide could occur, which could have had a devastating and psychological impact on the school community.
Separate but equal, judicial review, and the Miranda Rights are decisions made by the Supreme Court that have impacted the United States in history altering ways. Another notable decision was made in the Tinker v. Des Moines Case. Ultimately the Supreme Court decided that the students in the case should have their rights protected and that the school acted unconstitutionally. Justice Fortas delivered a compelling majority opinion. In the case of Tinker v Des Moines, the Supreme Court’s majority opinion was strongly supported with great reasoning but had weaknesses that could present future problems.
Through using case laws, the First Amendment, and previous cases, Justice Abe Fortas explains the reasoning behind why the principal was not permissible. In the first two paragraphs, Fortas provides a brief summary stating how the policy banning armbands go against the First Amendment. In the following paragraph, Fortas says, “Only a few of the 18,00 students in the school system wore the black armbands.” When introducing his first argument, he supports this fact explaining how “the work of the schools or any class was [not] disrupted.” As for the fourth paragraph, Justice Fortas provides a counter argument with what the District Court said. The District Court concluded the school authorities were reasonable since it was based upon their fear o...
The case also states “A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments” (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District). Because the students didn 't necessarily disrupt the education process, their First Amendment freedom of speech should not have been violated by the school officials.
The district court found the disruptive-conduct rule unconstitutionally vague and broad, and that withdrawal of the student's name from the graduation speaker's list violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because the rule did not mention such removal as a likely sanction. The court made the case that nothing in the Constitution forbids the states from insisting that certain forms of expression are unfitting and subject to sanctions. (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969) The court affirmed that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."(Tinker) If the student had given the same speech off the school premises, he would not have been penalized because government officials found his language inappropriate.
In the Tinker v. Des Moines case, the students’ first amendment right was violated. They were not able to express their opinions freely. The first Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the right of press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” (Classifying Arguments in the Cas...
...o school. The dissenting opinion simply argued that freedom of speech is not to be used as a disturbance. Therefore, those students’ right to expression or speech was not violated because it interfered with the classroom’s learning. There is a time and place for everything, and freedom of speech should not be used everywhere.
Student court cases against schools, or vice versa, are not as uncommon as they may seem. Tinker v. Des Moines was a court case that ended in 1969 regarding students protesting the Vietnam War. The three students involved in the trial wore black armbands to school, which was prohibited, and were suspended. Since the students felt that their First Amendment right was abused by the school therefore they took the issue to a local court, then eventually the Supreme Court. The case has left a mark on First Amendment rights for students since then. The Tinker v. Des Moines court case impacted the United States by questioning the First Amendment in public schools, spreading awareness of student rights, and by challenging future court cases using
In December 1965, an issue was caused by teachers’ in violating students’ freedom of speech. In December some students from Des Moines Independent Community School District, in Iowa were suspended for wearing black armbands to protest against the American Government’s war policy in support Vietnam (Richard, Clayton, and Patrick).The school district pressed a complaint about it, although the students caused no harm to anyone. Students should be able to voice their opinions without the consequences of the school district.
Jahn, Karon L. “School Dress Codes v. The First Amendment: Ganging up on Student Attire.”
20 May 2014. This article shows a majority of the cases that are relevant to the topic and research questions; it clearly shows the articles that are involved with public schools and how and what they did. It helps answer that research question because it shows that some of the schools are capable of bypassing the system, but sometimes get overturned. Paulson, Ken. A.
Censorship even extends to school dress codes. A school dress code is a set of rules about what clothing may or may not be worn in schools. As previously mentioned, a set of criteria are used to determine whether or not student expression should be censored in schools. For censorship involving dress codes, there are two: the “Tinker disruption standard” and the “forum issue,” which determine if student expression disrupts the school day and by who it is regulated, respectively (Emert). One case involving censorship of the school dress code was of a boy who violated his school’s dress code (Nguyen). Zachary Guiles, a thirteen year old boy, had to cover up his shirt denigrating former President George W. Bush, which violated his First Amendment rights (Nguyen). The shirt showed President Bush’s head on a chicken with derogatory names. It had images of oil rigs and lines of cocaine (Nguyen). A student, who had opposite views as Guiles, notified the administration of the shirt (Nguyen). Guiles was sent home on May 13, 2004, when he didn’t cover up the shirt after being asked to. The next day, Guiles’ wore the shirt, which was covered with tape and the word ‘censored’ was written on the tape (Nguyen). The school which Guiles attended, Williamstown Middle High School in Vermont, said that the shirt violated the dress code. Guiles’ parents felt that their son’s “rights to engage in political speech” were violated, and they sued the school (Nguyen). Guiles did not win the lawsuit in December 2004, when the US District Court for Vermont ruled in favor of the school, saying the images were “’plainly offensive and inappropriate’” (Nguyen). Guiles appealed, and the Second Circuit court ruled that the images were not offensive an...
Issues involving the apparel enforcements, including sexism, repressed self- identity, and punishment issues will be discussed within this paper. Literature Review The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the creation of laws offensive to religious groups and ensures their ability to freely practice, grants the freedom of speech, comply the freedom of the press, and allows the right to assemble peacefully. Adopted on December 15, 1791, it has served the United States of America for over one hundred years. Freedom of expression is a controversial topic when applied to the school dress code.
But, school is not the place to show student’s interests and likes, school is strictly for learning. If a student wants to wear a shirt that shows his/her’s religion, political view, or profanity, he or she can wear the clothing outside of school. Also a benefit to dress code in schools allows students to “expressive their individuality through their personality and academic achievements, not through clothing” (School Uniform). Jill Hamilton writes a book on the pros and cons of a dress code policy. She correctly states how school should be a business related environment. She states “Students should feel comfortable enough with themselves to portray their personality through themselves, not through their clothing. Their clothing should represent business attire, as they might have in the real world someday” (Hamilton, page 72). Hamilton writes her opinion on this in a nice manner, explaining that a dress code policy would ensure better
A student’s right to express themselves, as long as it’s not harming someone, should never be denied. Not every student can easily write a poem or paint a portrait about how they feel, but all students can use clothes to show who they are and how they feel. When a student is told that they have to change, it’s almost like saying they have to change who they are too. Clothes are the most important part of a first impression. They allow a student to pride, not only in what they are wearing, but for their school, or their sports team, or the play they got cast in.