Running head: Freedom of Expressions 1

Freedom Of Expressions And Responsibilities

Yasmin A. Gonzalez

College of Southern Nevada

Freedom Of Speech 2

Abstract

A high school in the northern part of the United States implemented a new rule that

prohibits to wear gang symbols, that includes earrings, emblems, jewelry and athletic caps. This

rule was implemented due to the activities of gangs that caused a negative effect in schools. A

student named Bill Foster went against this rule even tho he is not involved in any gang but

decided to wear an earring as self expression but the school took it as if it was part of a gang

style and suspended him. Bill Foster than sued the school saying they were going against his

rights. In this paper it will be discussed the pro’s and con’s of the decision that the court could

take.
Freedom Of Speech 3

Freedom Of Expression And Responsibilities

Freedom Of Expression. Students have the freedom of expression under the first

amendment which protects all forms of expression. They should be able to express what they feel

if they are not harming, sending out a negative message or being negative to other students. In

this scenario Bill Foster was only expressing himself. As we see it in other court cases for

example; Tinker V. Des Moines Independent School District in which they wore black armbands

that represented a symbol to protest against the Vietnam War. The school wanted to suspend the

students for doing this but they could not because the students were not disrupting any school

activity. The supreme court even then opposed to suspending the students because it would be

unconstitutional. They later than accepted that expression can be sponsored by the school or is

part of the curriculum can be directly restricted but the school would also have to consider if they

affect related to legitimate pedagogical concerns and as long as it does not discriminate anyone.

Doe v. Brockton School Comm. In this case law the court ruled in favor of the student’s

“cross dressing” because the school was not able to provide any disruption that was being caused

by it. As another example given in the book; The policy that was adopted in the school that it

was to prohibit to dress as if representing a certain gang was not completely described and it

sought to restrict. The only description that they had given students it was that they could not

wear certain brands but there was no rational relationship. This policy is very familiar as the

scenario that is being discussed in this paper but if there is not a complete description than

students can not commit to it either.

Right to free speech but balanced. The court has recognized that free speech has to be

balanced because they need to ensure the safety and learning of the students while being in

school. An example of this can be Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier in this case law the
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high school principal removed content from the school paper in which the students had been

working on. The principal removed a total of two pages because it included some articles about

pregnancy, birth control, and the impact of divorce on students. The court in this case upheld the

actions of the principal because the newspaper was part of the school curriculum. The content

was not disruptive for the students but if it is perceived harmful to students or vulgar than it can

be removed.

Another example J.S v. Bethlehem Area Sch. Dist. the court upheld the side of the teacher

because a student had created a web page in which he was soliciting money to kill her. The

teacher was so upset she was not able to continue teaching for about a year and a half. In this

case law even though they failed to to establish a rule that would put locks on the usage of

creating web pages or websites the situation the teacher was put in was able to demonstrate it

was completely wrong.

Final Decision. Schools have advocated that school uniforms policies have reduced the

violence and have improved the school climate. But also parents are able to use a “opt out”

option in which with parental permission students could request an exemption from the required

attire. Bill Foster did violate the policy that was implemented at his school but there was no

correlation to a gang or him being involved in one. I don’t think he should be suspended because

if he was to be in a gang there would be other signs that demonstrated it not just an earring.

References

Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School law for teachers: concepts and

applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.