LETTER OF THE DAY
Court has ruled that students are entitled
Regarding Appoquinimink School District’s response to the student wearing a T-shirt, read the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court decision. Three public school pupils in Iowa were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the government’s policy in Vietnam.
The court said: In wearing armbands, the petitioners were quiet and passive. They were not disruptive and did not impinge upon the rights of others. In these circumstances, their conduct was within the protection of the free speech clause of the First Amendment and the due process Clause of the Fourteenth.
First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students, subject to application in light of the special characteristics of the school environment.
A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
Jack Davidson, Newark
Holy cow! A well-reasoned LttE of the N-J. What is the world coming to?