The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (U.S. Constitution). When, if ever, is the abridgement of free speech necessary? Judicially, what is considered speech; can speech ever been expressive rather than vocalized? Most importantly, do these liberties end once a student steps on school grounds? These questions have been the subject of many controversial and groundbreaking Supreme Court cases throughout the years, resulting in the term “school speech.” What has been considered appropriate school …show more content…
Kennedy’s Christmas Truce proposal. The school officials discovered their plan and decided to create a preemptive ban where armbands weren’t allowed; any student who was not in compliance with the rule would be suspended and not allowed back until they agreed to abide by the dress code. The Tinkers and Eckhardt decided to violate the policy and were subsequently suspended (“Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District”), so their parents filed a lawsuit on their behalf and were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (Tinker v. Des Moines). The Tinker party felt as though the Des Moines School District was violated the Tinkers’ and Eckhardt’s right to freedom of speech (through their expressive clothing) and did not deserve punishment for their actions. The school board believed the protest was potentially distracting and disruptive to the schools’ environments (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District). When the Supreme Court received the suit, they deliberated two questions: “Were the armbands a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment? And if so,