Students can express selves, but be aware discipline is possible

Students around the country are turning the heartbreaking school shooting in Parkland into an inspiring and exemplary push for legislative change. In the past few days, many people have asked whether schools can discipline students for speaking out. The short answer? It depends on when, where and how the students decide to express themselves.

Plans for coordinated walkouts have been making national news and have already engendered disciplinary threats from some school administrators. Since the law in virtually all jurisdictions requires students to go to school, schools can typically discipline students for missing class, even if they’re doing so to participate in a protest or otherwise express themselves. But what the school can’t do is discipline students more harshly because they are walking out to express a political view or because school administrators don’t support the views behind the protest.

Before deciding whether to join a political walkout, students might want to find out what policies govern discipline for absences so that they’re aware of the potential consequences. They should also know that in addition to walkouts, there are actions they can take for which schools cannot legally impose punishment.

For example, during school hours, students cannot be punished for speaking out unless their speech disrupts the functioning of the school.

While what qualifies as “disruptive” will vary by context, courts have typically held that students have the right to wear expressive clothing that doesn’t target fellow students or disrupt class. Outside of school, students enjoy essentially the same rights to protest and speak out as anyone else. This means that students are likely to be most protected if they organize, protest and advocate off campus and outside of school hours.

There is clearly a lot to learn from the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their peers nationwide. Their activism inspires confidence in the future of our democracy, and their schools should be proud of them. Schools should recognize that even when they are within their right to discipline students for protests, it doesn’t always mean they should.

VERA EIDELMAN, NEW YORK Editor’s note: Vera Eidelman is the William J. Brennan Fellow at the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.