These two provisions, however, do not appear to authorize a school to prohibit certain student groups from meeting because of administrative inconvenience or speculative harm. For example, a group cannot be barred at a particular school solely because a similar student group at another school has caused problems. Students who wish to discuss controversial social and legal issues such as abortion, drinking age, the draft, and alternative lifestyles may not be barred on the basis of the content of their speech. The school is not required, however, to permit meetings in which unlawful conduct occurs. The right of a lawful, orderly student group to meet does not depend on the approval of other students.
All students enjoy the constitutional guarantee of free speech.
It is the school's responsibility to maintain discipline in order that all student groups are afforded an equal opportunity to meet peacefully without harassment. Student groups that are unlawful, or that materially and substantially interfere with the orderly conduct of educational activities, may be excluded. However, a student group cannot be denied equal access simply because its ideas are unpopular. Freedom of speech includes ideas the majority may find repugnant. The Act does not address this issue.