They are possessed of fundamental rights which the State must respect, just as they themselves must respect their obligations to the State. In our system, students may not be regarded as closed-circuit recipients of only that which the State chooses to communicate. They may not be confined to the expression of those sentiments that are officially approved. In the absence of a specific showing of constitutionally valid reasons to regulate their speech, students are entitled to freedom of expression of their views. 4 Students may exercise their constitutional right to free speech while on public school campuses before and after school, in between class, in the cafeteria, or on the playing field.
Students have a right to free speech during non-instructional time.
Students are compelled to be in school until age sixteen. While they are under compulsory attendance, the State must protect their constitutional rights to freedom of expression. As soon as students walk on the premises of any public school, kindergarten through college, they carry with them the First Amendment's protection of free speech. Students certainly do not shed their Constitutional rights when they enter the schoolhouse gate. 5 Schools may prohibit student speech only if there is specific evidence that the speech materially and substantially interferes with the orderly operation of the school.