Where Modern Student Rights Began

Have you ever wondered if a student can protest in a school with a sign that says “Bong Hits 4 Jesus”? To understand if students have that right or not, we have to go back to December 1965 when John and Mary Beth Tinker along with a friend wore black armbands at their school to protest the Vietnam War. The Tinkers went to the Supreme Court, implying their First Amendment rights got violated ...

In 1789 the Bill of rights penned by James Madison was ratified and prevented congress from “abridging the freedom of speech.” But it was not clear whether those same rights applied to students in schools. That is,  until Tinker v. Des Moines in 1965 after students wore black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War. The courts ruled in favor of the students in 1969 making it so students ar...