Tinker v. Des Moines: Iowa Time Machine February 24, 1969

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On February 24, 1969, the Supreme Court of the United ruled to protect the First Amendment rights of students in schools in deciding “Tinker v. Des Moines.” The court found in a 7-2 decision: "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

In late 1965, Senator Robert F. Kennedy called for a Christmas Truce in the Vietnam War. To show support, students in Des Moines, including John (15 years old), Mary Beth (13), Hope (11), and Paul Tinker (8), as well as their friend Christopher Eckhardt (16), wore black armbands to North HS, Roosevelt HS, Harding Junior High, and local elementary schools. After the principals decided to head off the children’s planned protest by bypassing the policy, John, Mary Beth, and Christopher were suspended on December 16.

After the Tinker family worked with the Iowa Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union, Dan Johnston took the case and filed it in the US District Court. After the lower court upheld the school board’s decision, a tie vote in the US Court of Appeals sent the case to the US Supreme Court. Argued in November of 1968, the court ruled 7-2 that the 1st Amendment applied to public schools.

Establishing “The Tinker Test” (also known as the substantial disruption test), the court’s ruling still guides courts today in determining whether a school’s interest in preventing disruption infringes upon students’ 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech. #Iowa #OTD #History #FreeSpeech #CivilRights