USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Tinker v. Des Moines is a historic Supreme Court ruling from 1969 that cemented students’ rights to free speech in public schools. Mary Beth Tinker was a 13-year-old junior high school student in December 1965 when she and a group of students decided to wear black armbands to school to protest the war in Vietnam.

Detailed explanation-2: -Decision: In 1969 the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision in favor of the students. The high court agreed that students’ free rights should be protected and said, “Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the school house gates."

Detailed explanation-3: -The substantial disruption test is the major standard developed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its seminal student speech K-12 decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) meant to determine when public school officials may discipline students for their expression.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Supreme court held that the armbands did represent symbolic speech that is entirely separate from the actions or conduct of those participating in it. Students do not lose their 1st amendment rights when they step onto school property.