Public v. Private

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The tension between preserving the Constitution and maintaining order in our public schools creates a precarious position for educators and the courts. In order to have a healthy learning environment a school must keep order. However, the public schools are restricted from instituting rules that infringe upon the rights of students to express themselves. These two goals do not always work in conjunction. Every case that the federal courts hear on the First Amendment deals with the a rule made by a teacher, principal, or a school board trying to create an environment that is most receptive to pedagogy.

The fact that schools are an agent of the government complicates the issue. It is clear that children in public schools do not share the same right as citizens in another forum. In Bethel v. Fraser, the Supreme Court stated that the rights of students in the public schools, "are not automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings." However, it is not clear how far the schools can go in limiting a students' first amendment rights.

We fear the reprecussions of allowing the government to deny constitutional rights, even to children. This point is illustrated in West Virginia v. Barnette, "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion." Allowing public schools to infringe upon the rights guaranteed in the Constitution places the entire democracy at risk. However, giving constitutional rights to students puts our entire educational system at risk.

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Government 375: Educational Reform and Ideology