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1st Amendment Timeline
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West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
West Virginia State Board of Education passed a law requiring all students to salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Several students and their parents, members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, challenged the policy, saying they could not recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Supreme Court decided the students were in the right, and on First Amendment grounds struck down the West Virginia ordinance as violating the right of free expression. -
Engel v. Vitale
There was a voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of each school day. A group of organizations joined forces in challenging the prayer, claiming that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The New York Court of Appeals rejected their arguments. So the conclusion is that the state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Students were silently protesting against the Vietnam War with armbands. Many were suspended for wearing them. The school was sued, and the Supreme Court took sides with the children and their silent protest. -
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser
Matthew Fraser made a speech at an assembly full of obscenities and innuendoes. When school officials attempted to discipline him for his speech, he sued. The Supreme Court sided with the school. -
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
The school newspaper at Hazelwood East High School in Missouri was courting controversy when it decided to publish an article on pregnancy among students naming names, as well as an article on students of divorced parents. The principal of the school censored both articles from the school paper. The student editors of the newspaper sued. The decision was made: a complete defeat for the students, so the students won this court case. -
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
Forcing the boy scouts to accept a gay scoutmaster was a violation of freedom. -
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
A school district's policy permitting student-led, student-initiated prayer at football games violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. -
Grutter v. Bollinger
This case was about an argument over colleges using race as a factor in admissions.The Supreme Court upheld the use of affirmative action in higher education. The University of Michigan's policy was acceptable because the school conducted a thorough review of each applicant's qualifications and did not use a racial quota system—meaning it did not set aside a specific number of offers for minority applicants. -
Morse v. Frederick
Joseph Frederick was punished for displaying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" on a banner in a public street directly across from his school, while the Olympic Torch Relay passed through. -
Rap Case
A young man was taken to court for rapping about two of his teachers. In his rap was harassment, threats, and intimidating language used. A dissent stated that the young man's first amendment rights were violated when he was expelled from school for posting the rap video on his publically accessible accounts. End results are that the young man did not get punished, because the first amendment was protecting him. -
Pro-Gun Shirt
An eighth grade student is banned for wearing a pro-gun shirt to school. -
Pro-Trump shirt
An 18 year-old student got suspended for wearing a pro-trump shirt. The end result is that the federal judge put a restraining order on the banning of tshirts. The district also ended up paying $25,000 to cover Barnes' (the 18 year old student) legal fees.
