Student Expression and the First Amendment

1. Regulating Student
Expression
By: Candy Jimenez-Caballero

2. Brief History of Regulating First Amendment Rights
● The First Amendment was created to give freedom of speech, assembly,
religion, and press to all citizens.
● The Supreme Court has stated that government officials have the “right to
regulate in a reasonable way where, when, and how a citizen speaks”
(Hopkins & Kozlowski, 2017, p.121).
● The government or public officials can only do this if there is sufficient reason

3. Early and Recent Cases Influencing Regulating
Student Expression
● West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
○ Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to make students express something that
they did not hold as a value or belief
● Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969)
○ Main case that set the precedent for cases of today.

4. Law Review Analysis
● Strasser (2016) explained that Tinker (1969) left more questions unanswered
● There is no clear boundary between regulation in school and off campus
● There is also confusion on what gives school officials premise to dismiss
students based on their expression
● One reason many have given is that they view a potential reaction as a just
reason for regulating speech and expression

5. Conclusion
● Regulating student expression is becoming a larger issue due to new
technology being accessed by students
● New questions keep arising and Tinker (1969) does not have clear enough
guidelines for them anymore
● Cases are overturned many times due to the discretion of judges so cases
are inconclusive many times