Tinker v. Des Moines

Freedom to Protest

Tinker v. Des Moines

Week in Review!

• The Peace Movement began as a protest movement in opposition to the United States's involvement in the Vietnam War.

• Main reasons Americans did not support this war include unclear objectives, Vietnam not posing a direct threat to the US, an unpopular draft system, and images from the war being shown on TV.

• Antiwar Protests led to violence and upheaval in U.S. streets; for example, the national guard killed 4 protesters at Kent State University

• MLK argued in 1967 that the war took away resources for poor relief programs promised to American communities; John Kerry argued in 1971 that the U.S. refused to leave the war because they did not want to admit the war was a mistake.

Open Ended

Do Now: Do you have freedom of speech in school? To what extent is what you say in school limited?

Freedom of Speech/Expression

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects our freedom of speech, but there are limits to this. There are laws and rules that can be made to abridge (or limit) our freedom of speech in certain situations. In the past, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government can make laws about speech that presents "a clear and present danger" to other people. For example, you are not allowed to yell that there is a fire, when there is no fire. How does our freedom of speech apply to protests that criticize the U.S. government?

Poll

Poll: Can schools tell students what to wear in school?

My first thought on this issue is . . .

• Yes, public schools should be able to have a dress code and even school uniforms for all students.

• Yes, but public schools should not tell students exactly what to wear, but should be able to ban specific types of clothing.

• No, clothes are an expression of the student and this right should not be limited in any way.

Open Ended

Scenario: A school district had a problem with students wearing political messages on their shirts. Many students disliked the messages that were written. The district was concerned that this could lead to fights. They made a rule that all political messages on shirts would be banned in all public schools.

Do you think this response by the school district was fair? Why or why not?

Overview: Tinker v. Des Moines

John and Mary Beth Tinker attended public school in Des Moines, Iowa in 1965. Their school did not allow students to wear armbands to protest the Vietnam War. However, the Tinkers decided to wear armbands to school anyway. The Vietnam War was an issue that divided many Americans. People felt very strongly about supporting or opposing the United States’s involvement in the war. The school felt the protest could lead to fighting or intense arguments among the students. The school officials asked the Tinkers to remove their armbands, but the Tinkers refused. John and Mary Beth Tinker were suspended from school until they agreed to remove the armbands.

Overview: Tinker v. Des Moines

The Tinkers sued the school district. The Tinkers believed that the Iowa school district violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even though the students were not speaking with their voices, they believed that wearing armbands was like speaking. This is called symbolic speech. Their argument was that the protest was silent, respectful, and peaceful. The Tinkers felt that the school had no good reason to suspend them over the armbands. 

In 1968, the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the case of Tinker v. Des Moines. They issued their decision in 1969.

Open Ended

Checking for Understanding: Why did the school want to suspend the Tinkers for wearing their armbands? Why did the Tinkers believe that they should be allowed to wear their armbands?

Poll

Be the judge! If you were on the Supreme Court, who would you side with?

• I side with the Tinkers. The armband was peaceful protest that should be protected.

• I side with the school. The Tinkers knew the rules and broke them anyway. The protest could lead to disagreements that might interrupt the school.

Decision!

In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tinkers. The Court ruled that students are entitled to their constitutional rights, even while in school. The judges wrote that neither “students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Because student expression is protected by the First Amendment even while in school, school officials must provide constitutionally valid reasons for regulating student expression. 

The justification for the regulation must be more than “a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint.” School officials must show that the expression would cause a disruption with the discipline and educational function of the school. They did not do that in this case.

Open Ended

Checking for Understanding: How did the Supreme Court rule in this case? What was their reasoning?

Majority Opinion

"The school officials banned and sought to punish petitioners for a silent, passive expression of opinion, unaccompanied by any disorder or disturbance on the part of petitioners. There is here no evidence whatever of petitioners' interference, actual or nascent, with the schools' work or of collision with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone. Accordingly, this case does not concern speech or action that intrudes upon the work of the schools or the rights of other students.

Only a few of the 18,000 students in the school system wore the black armbands. Only five students were suspended for wearing them. There is no indication that the work of the schools or any class was disrupted. Outside the classrooms, a few students made hostile remarks to the children wearing armbands, but there were no threats or acts of violence on school premises."

Multiple Choice

Which right was protected in Tinker v. Des Moines?

• Freedom of Religion

• Freedom of Speech

• Right to Trial by Jury

• Right to an Attorney

Open Ended

Exit Ticket: What is one thing you learned about the freedom of speech from the Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines?