Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the conduct implications of qualified immunity in allegations of deprivation of civil rights by public school administrators regarding the First Amendment—student speech. Methodology. Data were collected using the LexisNexis and JuriSearch online legal research systems, which identified decisions that matched the search terms: student speech and school district and first amendment and qualified immunity and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Thirty-seven cases qualified for this research based on the delimitations of this study. Findings. The district and circuit courts of appeals base their decisions on an in-depth analysis of 4 Supreme Court landmark cases: Tinker (1969), Fraser (1986), Hazelwood (1988), and Morse (2007). They also take in consideration decisions made by other district and circuit courts in different jurisdictions. The specific findings were discussed and presented in the following topics: confederate flag, cyberspeech, expression of sexuality, religious speech, saluting the flag, school violence, student athletes, student protest/messages, and student-written materials. Conclusions. School administrators need to carefully analyze the broad principles of the four Supreme Court landmark decisions: Tinker (1969), Fraser (1986), Hazelwood (1988), and Morse (2007) when addressing students' Freedom of Speech. Administrators need to take into consideration the specific characteristics of each case, the school environment, community culture and demographics when limiting students' freedom of speech. Also, they need to be extremely careful when addressing off-campus speech, because the courts do not seem to be willing to abandon the Tinker (1969) test of a reasonably substantial and material disruption of the educational process. Furthermore, the lack of Supreme Court decisions related to cyber-speech has complicated the analysis of school officials limiting freedom of speech related to multimedia websites and social networking. Recommendations. Further study is recommended: extend the current research to college campuses, include the analysis of states' court decisions, analyze teachers' freedom of speech, analyze the types of administrators' training programs related to their constitutional rights, focus on students' cyber-bullying and sexting.