Nicole Schulke – co-Editor-in-Chief
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals. Originally formed in 1920 by Crystal Eastman, Roger Baldwin and Walter Nelles, it currently has two separate factions of the organization. One of the organizations is for litigation, and the other for lobbying. These two distinct sections of the ACLU protect the people’s rights by helping to pass certain bills, and enforce the rights of citizens in court. However, many believe the ACLU is specifically designed to help only adults. Students are supported, as well, by the ACLU, and in many cases, have been defended by this non-profit organization.
In Arizona, the ACLU organized itself in 1959, when a group of civil libertarians realized that it would be important to have an organization available to “stand in defense of liberty in the state.” And, while their stance is called into question for their defense of Nazis and the Klan, burning of the cross, censorship, the avoidance of drug testing, not supporting gun ownership or gun control, it is also committed to protecting students rights, and have prepared a Manual for Arizona Public School Students. The ACLU claims they “defend [The Bill of Rights] principles – basic rights of citizens – whenever they are threatened.”
This guide “serves to provide general information on students’ rights at public schools.” It excludes the rights of private and tribal schools, public colleges and universities.
I remember my freshman year doing an activity in my Honors Freshman English class where students had to physically research what rights they had. This related back to the novel entitled, To Kill a Mockingbird, but, from what I heard, the curriculum has changed since then. No longer do students have a chance to learn what civil rights are available to them, and, aside from one or two classes, there is little opportunity to know what freedoms one possesses.
On the ACLUAZ.org website, there is a section for youth, and a handbook entitled, The Students’ Rights Handbook, designated to answer pressing questions that individuals may have.
I decided to research what questions I had about my rights. Using the handbook, I looked for answers to questions that I had always had.
The first question comes from the school newspaper being review before it is printed or made available to the general population. While no complete articles have been censored while I have been here, there have been times articles have been rewritten for misinformation or inappropriateness, and that is usually at the request of the adviser. My question, however, is can the adviser or administration do that?
Here is what I found: the First Amendment guarantees people the right to free expression. According to the ACLU, this means “the government cannot forbid us from having certain beliefs or stating our opinion,” whether it is written or spoken words, although students do not leave their rights at the schoolhouse door. In fact, this was fought in 1969 in the Tinker v. Des Moines School District. However, expression can be limited if it causes any disruption in the school’s activities and/or classes. According to the handbook, the administration and adviser can censor the Voice of the Pride Newspaper “if it is reasonably related to an educational purpose, and that the material is not consistent with the goals or mission of the school.” In other words, “the principal may only censor the student newspaper for a valid educational reason.” In fact, “courts have allowed schools to censor controversial topics like teen pregnancy, alcohol abuse, or sex education for being ‘inappropriate.’”
My third hour teacher requests that her class stands for the Pledge, whether the students recite it or not. Other teachers request that students recite the words, or in a few cases, allow students to disregard the pledge all together. Do I have to say the Pledge of Allegiance? According to the handbook, the courts say that “students have the right to sit silently during the Pledge of Allegiance, as long as they do not disrupt the pledge, they can refuse to participate.”
People wonder if a school can stop students from wearing certain clothing in school, because they cry freedom of expression. The manual says that the “courts don’t interfere with the authority of the school officials to impose dress codes because” they are necessary to “prevent distraction or disruption, to prevent gang activity, or to promote safety.” The only deviation from the dress code is for religious or medical reasons.
Can my teacher assign me to read religious passages for a class? The short and simple answer is, yes. Religion can be “studied at school, and be looked at for its influence on history or literature. However, teachers cannot assign reading or use class time to teach that one religion is better than another, or to disparage any religion.”
Can the school officials read students’ text message? The ACLUAZ Handbook states that if the school has a policy against using cell phones during the school day, then a “school official may confiscate the phone because your friend violated school rules. However, in order to look through her text messages, the teacher must have reasonable suspicion that the messages themselves will reveal a rule violation. Even though you are at school, you still have a right to privacy in your belongings.”
But, what is reasonable suspicion? It is a suspicion of “wrongdoing based on specific facts and not on a mere hunch or rumor.”
Most astonishing to me, however, was when I read that Arizona law says that teachers can “use ‘corporal punishment.’” But, “school officials may not use physical punishment that is excessive or cruel or unusual.” However, the handbook says that a student “may be expelled for continued defiance of authority, continued disruptive behavior, violent behavior.”
The ACLU website was a great place to start researching and everyone should know his or her rights in case he or she is someday in a situation where they are needed to defend them. The MPHS social studies teachers do spend a great deal of time explaining student rights. Unfortunately, some schools, I have been told, are not educating students on this, most likely because they do not want any possibility of facing costly court cases and slander against their institution. While it appears that students at MP are lucky, the fact remains that it is not fair for some schools to keep students ignorant.
To learn more about the ACLU Student’s Rights Handbook for Arizona, visit http://acluaz.org/youth.htm to access the material.
