NSBA Urges High Court to Clarify Student Free Speech Issue

Tax Cap Bill Still Awaits Action

NSBA Urges High Court to Clarify
Student Free Speech Issue

The National School Boards Association has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a local school board’s role to regulate student speech that might undermine a school’s core educational mission or which might interfere with its ability to maintain a safe, secure, and effective learning environment.

NSBA presented its argument in an amicus brief in Frederick v. Morse. The association urged the court to overturn a lower court decision in the case.

Frederick v. Morse involves a situation in which an Alaskan high school principal asked a group of students to take down a 20-foot banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus,” which they had unfurled as fellow students gathered to watch the Olympic Torch Relay pass in front of their school.

The 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco ruled that the principal violated the students’ free speech rights. Additionally, the court said that the principal could be held personally liable for her action.

Chilling Effect “It’s baffling that a court could see fit to so severely punish an educator for her good faith effort to do her job,” said NSBA General Counsel Francisco Negrón. “Local school boards need and should be able to define acceptable student speech according to their community values and norms.”

“Students should continue to have a wide berth to be able to engage in political speech, protest school policies, and express personal viewpoints,” said NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant. “But the 225,000 school administrators in this country should not be fearful of being able to discipline students when their speech is offensive or disruptive.”