Speak Up! - View Question #415

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Question: Is it illegal to take freedom of speech from kids in school?

Answer: School's need to maintain a safe environment for students and teachers. The right to free speech is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. However, when spoken words are abusive, offensive or the language is unacceptable, your right to free speech may be limited. Fighting words, those that may create a situation in which a fight may occur, are not protected by the Constitution. Students' rights and the need for safe school environment may sometimes come in conflict. In such cases, the courts have determined that students may have their rights limited.


Comments
16 thru 20 of 63 comments
On 03/04/04
Courtney from KY said:
I think that the govrnment has gone wwwwaaaay to far. We should be able to say what we want. If the teacher says we have to do an assignement that means we have to we cant comment on weather we think it apprpriate or not. I mean ya we can ask questions but if they dont like it they wont awnser and that burns me up.
On 02/23/04
************* from PA said:
I believe that schools are going way to far with "freedom of speech."Why can't they just respect what we say and all we are alive and we do have things to say just like adults.We are human beings. Yes, i know kids these days say things that are bad and they shouldn't, but instead of punishing us right away the teachers should just tell them to stop and so on. We have a right to say what we believe and our opinions on any topic. We are still people living on this earth and what happens today effects our own future. Therefore I think we should have our own personal freedom to speak as we please.
On 02/16/04
Anonymous from IL said:
Kids should have all the rights that all adults have. the government gets lower and lower every day by not giving us students freedom of speech. if i could sware u would get a piece of my mind. but i won't sink that low like the government would. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!
On 02/02/04
Will from IL said:
Schools limit our free speech so much that we can only say good things about the items we discuss in school. Don't like the homework assigment, and you have a good reason? Too bad, sit down. I can understand if you were just going to say rude words about the homework, but students (and kids alike) DO have voices, we DO have opinions, and I think teachers should respect that.
On 01/15/04
Latoia from CT said:
Me, being a high school student I feel that I have every right as a citizen of the United States to speak my mind. The first amendment says I have the right to freedom of speech. It doesn't say that I can only say certain thing and limit my opinion to satisfy the government or the school officials. As long as my opinion and thoughts don't cause a physical disturbance and someone doesn't get hurt, I have every right to express my opinions.
16 thru 20 of 63 comments



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