FREE SPEECH: COURT RULING DOESN'T GIVE SCHOOLS FREE REIN

Students have constitutional rights to free speech, as do all
Americans, but in public-school settings, their rights can be limited.

That is because students are underage, and schools are charged with
providing a safe environment in which they can learn.

Still, limits put on students' First Amendment rights should apply
only to activities that could impede others' education or directly
incite disruptive or illegal behavior, according to past U.S. Supreme
Court decisions.

A ruling by the high court Monday could expand those guidelines and
open a Pandora's box of conflicting views about when school officials
can limit a student's rights.

The tricky part is keeping the personal biases of school officials
out of the policy. Monday's ruling might make that harder to do.

In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that a principal could confiscate a
student's banner with the words "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS" and suspend the
student. The justices said the principal's opinion that the banner
promoted illegal drug use overruled the student's free-speech right.
Justice John Paul Stevens argued for the dissenters that the First
Amendment trumps any influence such a flippant message might exert.

What does the ruling mean for Utah schools? If interpreted narrowly
to apply only to speech or writing that clearly advocates use of
illegal drugs, it probably won't have much effect, since most Utah
schools already prohibit such messages. We support that specific rule.

However, it would be wrong for Utah educators to believe the ruling
gives them broader authority to limit other kinds of speech.

In a 1965 case involving Iowa public-school students protesting the
Vietnam War by wearing black armbands, the high court wrote that
students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of
speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

Regarding the risk of occasional disruption in schools, the 1965
ruling stated: "Our Constitution says we must take that risk; and our
history says that it is this sort of hazardous freedom - this kind of
openness - that is the basis of our national strength and of the
independence and vigor of Americans who grow up and live in this
relatively permissive, often disputatious, society."

We believe 42 years hasn't changed that, and we hope school officials agree.