These court cases are extremely important for understanding the parameters of free speech and what is protected under the First Amendment, in and out of school. Outside school, most speech is protected, even hate speech, as long as it does not incite imminent criminal activity. The rules get tougher during war time, as people worry more about the safety of the country. In schools, there are more regulations. Though peaceful, non-distracting political protests are allowed, distracting, lewd speech or speech promoting illegal activities are not protected under the First Amendment for students. Therefore, even though Tinker v. Des Moines ruled that students don't lose their First Amendment rights when they enter school, they do have much less freedoms inside school than they do outside.
Comments