Which statement best expresses the Court's stance in Tinker about students' rights at school?

• A. Schools can completely regulate student speech
• B. Students have no First Amendment rights in school
• C. Speech must be non-political to be allowed
• D. Students retain free speech rights at school

Answer: (D)

The main idea this question tests is that students retain First Amendment rights at school, and schools can limit speech only if it would materially and substantially disrupt the educational environment or infringe the rights of others. In Tinker, students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War, and the school prohibited them. The Supreme Court ruled that the students’ peaceful, symbolic speech was protected, and the school’s actions violated the First Amendment because there wasn’t evidence of a disruption. This establishes that students don’t shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate and that political expression can be protected, provided it doesn’t cause substantial disruption. The other statements misstate the idea by suggesting schools can completely regulate speech, that students have no rights, or that only non-political speech is allowed.