Erica Salkin, Whitworth University – Student Speech Rights at School

What speech rights do students have while on campus?

Erica Salkin, associate professor of communication studies at Whitworth University, explores whether schools can do a better job at communicating what students can and cannot say at school.

Erica Salkin (@ersalkin) is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Whitworth University, where she teaches multimedia reporting and story creation, public relations and media law. Dr. Salkin’s research focuses on student speech rights in the academic setting. She is the author of Students’ Right to Speak (McFarland, 2016) and Student Speech Policy Readability in Public Schools (Palgrave Pivot, 2016) as well as articles in Journalism, Journalism Studies and Communication Law and Policy. She received her Ph.D. in mass communication with a minor in Education Law and Policy from the University of Wisconsin. www.ericasalkin.com.

Student Speech Rights at School

In 1969, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas declared in Tinker v. Des Moines that students did not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Those rights were not absolute, however, and were balanced against the ability to maintain an orderly and effective educational environment.

Nearly 50 years later, the core of the decision remains: public school students do have basic rights to express their ideas while at school. My research has looked at how those rights are communicated to the students themselves, and what schools might do to better clarify theirs students’ speech rights and responsibilities.

In a study conducted in 2016, we examined a random sample of student handbook language from 45 high schools, representing 15 different states. Some handbooks included information about student speech rights, but many did not. When that information was included, it was often written at two-to-three grade levels higher than the students it was meant to serve. In comparison, those handbooks were also reviewed for language on dress code. Every handbook had something to say about appropriate clothing, and these sections were written at age appropriate – or lower! – levels.

We also ran a series of focus groups with public high school students, asking them to interpret what they thought these handbook entries meant. Their answers were striking. They wanted better-defined terms and greater levels of context, so they could figure out when their expression could mean consequences. They understood the need for an orderly school, but also craved the chance to openly share their opinions and perspectives.

Ultimately, this research shows that public schools may want to be more proactive about presenting information about the rights AND responsibilities of free speech enjoyed by their students. Inclusion of language written at grade level can make a real difference.