Let the Students Speak! A History of the Fight for Free Expression in American Schools

Let the Kids Speak: The History of Students' Free Expression Rightsdetails the rich history and growth of the First Amendment in public schools. It traces the early history of failed student free-expression claims from the 19th century to the development of protection for students by the United States Supreme Court. It includes interviews with key student litigants in famous First Amendment cases, including John Tinker ofTinker v. Des Moines Independent School Districtand Joe Frederick of the Bong Hits 4 Jesus caseMorse v. Frederick. The book also discusses the raging free-speech controversies in public schools today, including dress codes and uniforms, cyberbullying, and the regulation of any violent-themed expression in a post-Columbine and Virginia Tech environment.

David L. Hudson, Jr. is a First Amendment Scholar with the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. He teaches at Vanderbilt Law School and Nashville School of Law. His articles have been published in the National Law Journal, ABA Journal, and Tennessee Bar Journal. He is a member of the First Amendment Lawyers Association and a graduate of Duke and Vanderbilt Law School.

Editor’s Note (Christopher Finan)
 
Introduction
1 No Rights for Students
2 The “Fixed Star”
3 Buttons and Armbands
4 A New Era
5 Supreme Retractions
6 Bong Hits
7 Columbine
8 The Dress Debate
9 The New Frontier
Conclusion The Fragile Future
 
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index of Cases