Current precedent relies on a 1982 case in which five justices generally agreed there were limits on a school’s power to ban books, but they didn’t agree on why.
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Articles on First Amendment rights of public school students
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The Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether school dress codes are protected under the law.
A Supreme Court ruling about a student’s free-speech rights won’t stem the torrent of crude, disrespectful speech in American society.
The Mahanoy v. B.L. ruling did not give schools or free-speech advocates the clear lines they may have wanted, but it did attempt to address some of the complexity of modern-day speech.
New laws pending in Wisconsin and North Carolina would require public universities to punish students who disrupt campus speakers. But these laws would do more to hinder free speech than protect it.
The Supreme Court will soon decide if it will hear a case involving the off-campus speech rights of students.
Top contributors
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Professor of Higher Education, University of Kentucky
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Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication, University of Florida
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Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Michigan State University
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Assistant Professor of Policy and Educational Leadership, University of Michigan
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Susan S. Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy and Practice, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University
