Does it sometimes feel like the rules that you have to follow in school, especially surrounding the dress code, are unfair? Do you ever wonder what exactly you can and cannot say and do within the confines of a school? Well, in 1969 a group of students faced expulsion for expressing their opposition to the Vietnam War and decided to fight back. In a seminal court case, Tinker v. Des Moines, their decision to file suit changed schools in the United States forever.
Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School District
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District is a Supreme Court case that was decided in 1969 and has long-standing ramifications regarding freedom of expression and student liberty.
The question in Tinker v. Des Moines was: Does a prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public school, as a form of symbolic speech, violate the students’ freedom of speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Tinker v Des Moines Summary
During the height of the Vietnam War, five high school students in Des Moines, Iowa decided to voice their opposition to the War by wearing two-inch wide black armbands to school. The school district created a policy that stated that any student who wore an armband and refused to take it off would be suspended.
Mary Beth and John Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt, ages 13-16, wore black armbands to their schools and were sent home for violating the armband ban. Their parents filed a suit on behalf of their children against the school district on the basis that the district violated the student's First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The first court, the federal district court, dismissed the case, ruling that the school’s actions were reasonable. After the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the federal district court, the parents asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review the decision of the lower courts, and the Supreme Court agreed.
Arguments for Tinker:
- Students are people with Constitutional protections
- Wearing armbands was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment
- Wearing armbands was not disruptive
- Wearing armbands did not infringe on anyone else’s rights
- Schools should be places where discussions can take place and students can express their opinions
Arguments for Des Moines Independent School District:
- Free Speech is not absolute - you can’t say whatever you want when you want
- Schools are places to learn curriculum, not be distracted from lessons
- The Vietnam War was controversial and emotional, and bringing attention to it causes disruption and could lead to violence and bullying
- Deciding with the students would mean that the Supreme Court would be overstepping its bounds by interfering with local government powers
Tinker v Des Moines Amendment
The Constitutional Amendment in question in Tinker v. Des Moines is the First Amendment Freedom of Speech clause,
“Congress shall make no law…….abridging the freedom of speech.”
The right to freedom of speech goes beyond the spoken word. Armbands and other forms of expression are considered symbolic speech. The Supreme Court has granted protection for some symbolic speech under the First Amendment.
Symbolic Speech: Nonverbal communication. Examples of Symbolic Speech include wearing an armband and burning a flag.
Tinker v Des Moines Ruling
In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tinkers, and in the majority opinion, they asserted that students retain their constitutional right to freedom of speech while in a public school. They decided that the prohibition against the wearing of armbands in public schools, as a form of symbolic speech, violated the students’ freedom of speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
That doesn’t mean that schools can’t limit student speech. In fact, schools may limit student expression when it is considered disruptive to the educational process. However, in the case of Tinker v. Des Moines, wearing a black armband did not interfere with the educational function of the school nor did it interfere with any other students’ rights.
In the majority opinion, Justice Abe Fortas wrote,
“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
Majority Opinion: The written explanation for the decision made by the majority of the Supreme Court justices in a specific case.
The two dissenting judges in the minority disagreed on the basis that the First Amendment doesn’t give anyone the right to express whatever they want at any time. They argued that the armbands did cause a disruption by distracting other students and reminding them of the emotional subject of the Vietnam War. They warned that the ruling would usher in a new age of permissiveness and lack of discipline.
Dissenting Opinion: The written explanation for the decision made by the minority of the Supreme Court justices in a specific case.
Fig. 1, U.S. Supreme Court, Wikimedia Commons
While Tinker v Des Moines expanded students' freedom of speech, let's look at a couple of important examples where the Supreme Court ruled that a student's expression was not protected by the First Amendment.
Morse v. Frederick
In 1981, at a school-sponsored event, Joseph Frederick displayed a large banner with "Bong Hits for Jesus" printed on it. The message refers to slang for marijuana use. The school principal, Deborah Morse, took the banner away and suspended Frederick for ten days. Frederick sued, alleging that his First Amendment right to free speech had been violated.
The case made its way to the Supreme Court, and in a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled for Morse. While there are some speech protections for students, the justices decided that First Amendment does not protect student speech that advocates for illegal drug use. The dissenting justices believed that the Constitution does protect student right to debate, and that Frederick's banner was protected expression.
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser
In 1986, Matthew Fraser delivered a speech filled with lewd comments in front of the student body. He was suspended by the school's administration for profanity. Fraser sued and the case went to the Supreme Court.
In a 7-2 decision, the Court ruled for the school district. Chief Justice Warren Burger referenced Tinker in his opinion, noting that the case resulted in the broad protection of student speech, but that protection only extended to speech that was not disruptive to the educational process. Fraser's profanity was determined to be disruptive, and therefore it was not protected speech. The two dissenting justices disagreed with the majority, asserting that the lewd speech was not disruptive.
These decisions remain especially important because they allow for school administration to punish students for speech deemed lewd, offensive, or advocating for illegal behavior.
Tinker v Des Moines Impact
The landmark decision of Tinker v. Des Moines expanded students’ rights in the United States. The case has been used as a precedent in numerous instances that have followed. It solidified the idea that students are people and have constitutional rights that do not disappear just because they are minors or are in public school.
The ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines increased the knowledge of First Amendment protections among American students. In the era that followed, students challenged various policies that infringed upon their freedom of expression.
Fig. 2, Mary Beth Tinker wearing a replica of the armband in 2017, Wikimedia Commons
Tinker v. Des Moines - Key takeaways
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District is an AP Government and Politics required Supreme Court case that was decided in 1969 and has long-standing ramifications regarding freedom of expression and student liberty.
- The Constitutional Amendment in question in Tinker v. Des Moines is the 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech clause.
- The right to freedom of speech goes beyond the spoken word. Armbands and other forms of expression are considered symbolic speech. The Supreme Court has granted protection for some symbolic speech under the First Amendment.
- In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tinkers, and in the majority opinion, they asserted that students retain their constitutional right to freedom of speech while in a public school.
- The landmark decision of Tinker v. Des Moines expanded students’ rights in the United States.
- Morse v. Frederick and Bethel School District No. 403 v Fraser are important cases that limited what was considered to be protected student speech.
References
- Fig. 1, US Supreme Court (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States#/media/File:US_Supreme_Court.JPG) by Photo by Mr. Kjetil Ree (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Kjetil_r) licensed by CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
- Fig. 2, Mary Beth Tinker wearing a replica of the armband (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mary_Beth_Tinker#/media/File:Mary_Beth_Tinker_at_Ithaca_College,_19_September_2017.jpg) by Amalex (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Amalex5&action=edit&redlink=1) licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
Explanations 
Exams 
Magazine 
