To read this content please select one of the options below:

From Student Armbands to Cyberbullying: The First Amendment in Public Schools

Legal Frontiers in Education: Complex Law Issues for Leaders, Policymakers and Policy Implementers

ISBN: 978-1-78560-577-2, eISBN: 978-1-78560-576-5

Publication date: 12 November 2015

Abstract

The American public greatly esteems their First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but generally understands poorly its true ambit. Unfortunately, this defect in understanding permeates American educational institutions, from the lowest grades to higher education and even professional schools. Students’ pervasive ability to engage in technological speech and expression further complicates the issue, especially when inappropriate or offensive speech originating outside school crosses the geographic boundary and enters school. School administrators at all levels, challenged with maintaining atmospheres of safety and security conducive to learning, are being asked to respond to such student speech, but they fear to exceed the limits of their authority. Cyberbullying and harassing communications continue to distract victims and educators and detract from the quality of education at all institutions. The legal system and judiciary provide little guidance, and what guidance there is suffers from lack of consistent definitions and conflicting analyses. This chapter will review the jurisprudence pertaining to the First Amendment as applied to the school setting. The emphasis will be on legislative, judicial, and societal responses to cyberbullying and cyber harassment in the school setting, from the elementary level to higher education. Finally, recommendations for policies and procedures for dealing with cyberbullying and cyber harassment in schools will be presented.

Citation

Conn, K. (2015), "From Student Armbands to Cyberbullying: The First Amendment in Public Schools", Legal Frontiers in Education: Complex Law Issues for Leaders, Policymakers and Policy Implementers (Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 35-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-366020150000024029

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015 Emerald Group Publishing Limited