49 Students
Student’s Rights in School: Supreme Court Decisions by Alec Bauserman
Introduction
| “The vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools.” Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479 (1960) |
Lawsuits have become increasingly common in our society and many Americans act and speak out of the fear of being taken to court. In any environment, one must be conscious of how their words and actions will affect others. A thoughtless statement or inappropriate physical contact might land you in court. This is especially true in schools, where daily contact, high emotions and stressful circumstances can all come together at the wrong moment. As such, it is good to understand the rights of students trying to express themselves and the rights of teachers trying to keep a safe, orderly learning environment. Few people know their constitutional rights, and even fewer teachers & students know how their constitutional rights change once they enter the ‘semi-public/semi-private” classroom.
This paper will examine some of the rights guaranteed to all Americans and how those rights change once they enter school. It will also seek to answer some of the most common questions held by students. What is free speech? Is it protected in school? How safe am I in my possessions? Do I have any expectation of privacy when it comes to my things? A good understanding of students’ rights benefits everyone: the students who exercise them, the teachers who challenge them, and the democratic society which lives by them.
Learning Targets
By the conclusion of this article, readers should be able to:
- identify and understand the basic philosophy of the courts when determining the extent of student’s rights
- recognize similarities and differences between Constitutional rights held in school and life out side it.
- recognize the major court case which set the groundwork for all future Supreme Court cases involving student’s rights
- make informed decisions in real-life situations based on the knowledge presented here
- inform colleagues and students of the information contained in this article
Students Rights
The founding fathers deliberated for days on end when writing the first draft of our nation’s Constitution and later the Bill of Rights. They agonized over wording; argued over semantics. It is likely they had no idea just how successful this “great experiment in democracy” would turn out to be. Equally likely is this: they never once considered how these rights would pertain to young students in the classroom. The landmark case of Tinker v. Des Moines School District clearly defined the benchmark for how rights may be exercised and when they may be curtailed:
|
“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.
… On the other hand, the Court has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority