Student Speech
Overview of Supreme Court Precedent
Federal courts have ruled onthe issue of public school students’ freedom of speech under the FirstAmendment to the U.S. Constitution. This brief examines the three key cases onthis subject handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986),and Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier(1988). While Tinkeroccurred almost four decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in this casehas been cited in numerous other court decisions since then and has never beenoverturned. Fraser and Hazelwood have also been discussedwidely in subsequent cases and law journals. …
