Tinker v. Des Moines

The Court held that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech at the schoolhouse gate.

Overview

Mary Beth Tinker and other students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended. Justice Fortas, for a 7-2 majority, held that student expression may be suppressed only where school authorities can show it would substantially interfere with school operations or invade the rights of other students. Undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough. Tinker established the primary framework for student speech rights, cited in cases involving student newspapers, banners, and online speech, though later decisions carved out exceptions for school-sponsored and drug-related expression.