Protecting the Rights of Students

What rights do students have when it comes to expressing their faith in school?  That's a question we get often at the American Center for Law and Justice.  I am delighted to report that there is strong precedent from the Supreme Court of the United States safeguarding the constitutional rights of students.

This tapestry of law has been in place now for more than 35 years and really began in 1969 when the Supreme Court ruled that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. (Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School Dist., 1969)  That incredibly important principle was reaffirmed by the high court in December 2003 in a case I argued before the Justices.  This case involved campaign finance reform and in oral arguments I told the court that students should not be discriminated against in donating to political campaigns because they are under the age of 18.  The Justices agreed unanimously.  In its decision, the high court struck down the ban against minors as unconstitutional and concluded that minors enjoy the protection of the First Amendment and added that limitations on the amount than an individual may contribute to a candidate or political committee impinge on the protected freedoms of expression and association.  (McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 2003).

That decision represented a long history of important decisions safeguarding the rights of students in public schools. 

In the 1980s Congress passed and President Reagan signed into law the Equal Access Act an important law that guarantees equal treatment for students wishing to express their religious faith.

That law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1990 when the high court determined that the Equal Access Act applied to students in the public school setting clearing the way for them to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public secondary school campuses.  I had the privilege of presenting oral arguments in that case and in a 8-1 decision the high court ruled that schools that receive federal dollars and permit non-curriculum related clubs to meet on campus can not exclude Bible clubs and prayer groups to meet on campus during non-instructional time.  In the words of Justice Sandra Day OConnor:  there is a crucial difference between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect.  (Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, emphasis in original, 1990)

In another case with equally important ramifications, the Supreme Court ended discriminatory behavior by school districts that shut out religious speakers.  In a 1993 case that I argued before the high court, the Justices ruled against a prohibition put in place by a school district that prevented a church from using school facilities to show Dr. James Dobsons film series, Turn Your Heart Toward Home a series that dealt with contemporary family issues from a biblical perspective.  The school district denied usage to the group saying the event was church related.  In a unanimous decision, the high court rejected that reasoning stating:  the principle that has emerged from our cases is that the First Amendment forbids the government to regulate speech in ways that favor some viewpoints or ideas at the expense of others. (Lambs Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School Dist., 1993 citing City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 1984)

In addition to the Supreme Court decisions, the federal government has in place very strong guidelines protecting the rights of students.  The guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Education state:  The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the First Amendment requires public school officials to be neutral in their treatment of religion, showing neither favoritism toward nor hostility against religious expression such as prayer.   The DOE guidelines also clearly underscore the fact that while the First Amendment forbids religious activity that is sponsored by the government, it protects religious activity that is initiated by private individuals . . . .

At the American Center for Law and Justice, we remain committed to protecting the constitutional rights of students.  We have great resource material on this topic online at our website at www.aclj.org.  And if you have specific legal questions about an issue that may arise, contact our legal helpline at 1-800-296-4529. 

The Supreme Court precedent is clear on this issue:  students enjoy broad constitutional rights in the public school.  And the ACLJ stands ready to protect these most cherished constitutional freedoms.