A federal appeals court handed an elementary school student a significant win this week for her free speech rights in the classroom, vacating a lower court’s ruling that had placed her speech rights at the whim of teachers and administrators.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that the lower court did not properly apply the standard set in the 1969 Supreme Court ruling Tinker v. Des Moines, which found that a student does not lose his free speech rights at school and that schools may only restrict speech if it causes significant disruption to the learning environment. The ruling said the lower court was wrong in finding that the student’s drawing, at the center of the dispute, was not protected by the First Amendment.
“This case presents an important issue: to what extent is elementary students’ speech protected by the First Amendment? Applying the criteria set forth in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, we hold that elementary students’ speech is protected by the First Amendment, the
age of the students is a relevant factor under Tinker, and schools may restrict students’ speech only when the restriction is reasonably necessary to protect the safety and well-being of its students,” the ruling said.