Students’ Right to Speak

In 1969, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas called free speech in public schools a “hazardous freedom,” but one well worth the risk. A half-century later, with technology enabling students to communicate in ways only dreamed about in Fortas’ time, that freedom seems more hazardous than ever.
Yet still worth the risk, given equal respect for students’ First Amendment rights and for the requirements of an orderly educational institution. This book provides educators, administrators, school board members and parents a starting point in creating student speech policies that encourage the responsible exercise of constitutional freedoms, while respecting the learning environment.
The author discusses the history, sociology, law and philosophy surrounding student speech, demonstrating that free speech and effective teaching and administration in public schools are not mutually exclusive.

Erica R. Salkin is an assistant professor of communication studies at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

Erica R. Salkin
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 212
Bibliographic Info: 14 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6292-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2374-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction: Welcome to the Conversation! 3
1. What Does the Law Say About Children? 11
2. The Constitution Goes to Public School 25
3. You Can’t Say That in a Public School—or Can You? 38
4. What Is a Student? 77
5. Why Free Speech for Students at All? 98
6. A Foot in Both Worlds: The Special Case of Student Newspapers 127
7. Facebook and Twitter and Texting, Oh My! Cyberspeech 142
8. Starting Your Own Conversation About Student Speech 156
Chapter Notes 169
Works Cited 191
Cases Cited 198
Index 203