Tag: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

SPLC urges Supreme Court to limit school authority over off-campus student speech
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This month the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mahanoy Area School Dist. v. B.L., a student speech case that could fundamentally alter how future generations understand the idea of free speech in America.  Read SPLC's Amicus Brief Just over 50 years ago the Court handed down a decision in its landmark student speech… Continue reading SPLC urges Supreme Court to limit school authority over off-campus student speech

Mary Beth Tinker to high school journalists: It’s your job to speak up on behalf of others

Mary Beth Tinker speaks about free expression in front of her famous black armband, on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. / Joe Severino
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mary Beth Tinker, First Amendment advocate and former plaintiff in a landmark Supreme Court case that still affects students' speech rights 50 years later, told her story to hundreds of high school journalism students visiting the nation's capital on Nov. 22 — encouraging them to be caring, and use their free speech… Continue reading Mary Beth Tinker to high school journalists: It’s your job to speak up on behalf of others

Federal court ruling recognizes students' First Amendment right to make recordings on school grounds
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Students have a constitutionally protected right to record the activities of school authorities on school grounds during school time, unless the school shows that recording will be substantially disruptive, a Maine judge decides in a case that could clarify the rights of student newsgatherers everywhere. 

Pennsylvania court extends school's disciplinary reach into student's off-campus Facebook joke
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A federal district judge sided with school disciplinarians in a First Amendment case involving a joke posted to Facebook, but the court also struck down as unconstitutional a school policy that made "inappropriate" speech a punishable disciplinary offense if there was any possibility of disruption at school.

5th Circuit hears case over student's suspension for posting a profane rap video online

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The judges were urged to uphold a Fifth Circuit panel's December 2014 ruling in favor of Taylor Bell, an aspiring rap artist suspended from school in 2011 for a profane YouTube video about misconduct by two coaches at his school.

Oregon student wins free-speech lawsuit against school, overturning discipline for critical Facebook posts
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An Oregon middle school student’s free-speech rights were violated when he was suspended for calling a teacher a “bitch” who “needs to be shot” on Facebook rant, a federal judge has ruled.

N.D. House approves ‘anti-Hazelwood’ student press freedom bill
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The North Dakota House of Representatives approved legislation on Monday that would protect the free-speech rights of student journalists at public schools and colleges — sending the bill to the governor’s desk for a signature.

Supreme Court declines to hear First Amendment challenge over school’s American flag clothing ban

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A petition to the nation’s highest court followed a February 2014 ruling from three judges on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in California, who found Live Oak High School officials did not violate the First Amendment when they ordered students to remove American flag T-shirts during a Cinco de Mayo celebration in 2010.