With the election and results looming, there have been many showing their support for both candidates and using their first amendment rights. Even after this election passes, there are sure to be more protests and public assemblies. As they happen, it is important to know what the first amendment protects and what is or isn’t allowed at school.

A rally last weekend in the Eagle Valley parking lot brought this idea center stage. On Saturday, October 24th, a group of people gathered at the high school in order to spread their support for President Trump. The group was not approved to use school property, and were asked to leave. The Sheriff’s office was contacted. However, the group had already left by the time they arrived, and there was no further action required.

The school’s request for the group to leave last weekend was within their power because it is private property.

“There is a common misconception that school property is public, so sometimes groups don't realize they need to have permission to use the facilities,” Assistant Superintendent Dr. Katie Jarnot explains. “School property, including the parking lot, is private property owned by the school board. We allow organizations to use our facilities and property all the time and are happy to do so, but it is important that the school district have contact and insurance information on file. The school district needs to be free from liability if someone were to get hurt or property were to be damaged.”

After the requests are received, it is up to administration to decide whether or not they will allow the event to take place. They ask themselves, “Is it something that is what we would deem school appropriate or something we want to have on our campus?” Principal Mr. Greg Doan explains, “we can deny acceptability if we deem it’s either unsafe or something about it isn’t in alignment with our general sort of school policies.”

Had that group filled out the proper forms, “I would have sought to say no because it’s just not our place to be part of partisan politics,” Mr. Doan explains.

That is not to say that the school would not allow any political events. They would just look to make sure that they’re balanced. Mr. Doan thinks he would allow permission for something like a debate where both parties are represented.

“We don’t want the perception that somehow our school is a political place,” Doan says. “I would want to make sure there was a fair chance for both to be able to do something. If one came to me and said we want to hold a rally, I’d almost feel compelled to say well, I want to make sure the other side has a rally too. Or some voice or representation because I wouldn’t want it to be that somehow we are just one sided.”

Schools try to refrain from partisan activities because they “must be a place where all students are safe, comfortable, and allowed to appropriately express their views. It is our job as educators to support the diversity of views and experiences of our students, families, and communities,” Dr. Jarnot explains.

These are all challenges for anyone looking to hold an event on school property. Students will always have to be at school during the school day, and it is important to remember that students still have the right to free speech.

The Student Press Law Center is a non-profit organization that provides free legal consultations to student journalists to help protect their freedom of the press.

Sommer Ingram Dean, a representative with the Student Press Law Center explained, “School officials can censor you only if they can prove that your behavior or your speech is going to cause a material or substantial disruption to the school day.” Additionally, “They would not be able to stop it just because they don’t like what you’re saying.”

Supreme Court case Tinker v Des Moines makes it so students and teachers don’t shed their first amendment rights when they enter the schoolhouse gates. As students look to express their opinions at school in the coming days, they must do so in ways that do not disrupt the learning environment or the orderly flow to the school day. Students who choose to engage their freedom of speech, assembly, or petition on school grounds outside the school day must get proper approval for their event. Otherwise, it can get shut down, and that is not considered censorship. Just because students have these freedoms does not mean they are free from the consequences of using them.

Discussing Current Events in the Classroom

One way for students to be literate in the news is to have conversations about what is going on around them. School is often the place where this happens. In order to ensure the entire student body was on the same page, I wrote this article about effective ways to have conversations at school.

In a technology filled society, people are constantly surrounded by current events and the news. It jumps out from TVs, computers, and phones. This often leads to students wanting to talk about what they’ve seen and share opinions they’ve developed. As a result, schools are a breeding ground for conversation and discussions.

These conversations often overlap with content students are learning in the classroom. This overlap is often intentional in history teacher Joshua Stoneking’s class.

“What I try to do is identify parallels that are going on in regards to what happened to the past and what happened today,” explains Mr. Stoneking.

Our teachers each develop ways to facilitate discussions. English teacher Ms. Dwenna Nelson has many ways to keep her classroom civilized.

“I make sure that I’ve established an environment where students are respectful of each other and are willing to have respectful conversations,” Ms. Nelson explains.

Ms. Nelson has also set up some ground rules to ensure her classes maintain respect. One rule she has is, “if someone says this thing happened to me or shares an experience, no one in class is really allowed to say that didn’t happen to you or it’s not that bad. I try to foster the idea that you can’t invalidate someone else’s personal experiences.”

For a long time, teachers held the belief that they should not share their opinions with students. However, that idea is quickly changing. This summer, principal Greg Doan realized a new perspective. “Students want to know who you are, so revealing what your stance is can be appropriate, but you also have to allow for it to be done in a way that provides conversations,” Mr. Doan discovered. “I think you trust them more when you know that rather than them saying I don’t want to tell you anything.”

It is important that even when a teacher shares their perspective the class remains balanced.

“You can either get balance by remaining neutral and then saying let me hear what everybody is doing,” Mr. Doan explains, “or you can provide balance by saying here’s what I believe and why, and you get the chance to do the same thing.”

Oftentimes teachers share their perspective in order to demonstrate their thought-processes.

“I think teachers sharing their opinions can be ways for students to see how you arrive at a certain opinion. You can share research you’ve done to get to that place, or you can share experiences you’ve had in order to get to that place,” reveals Ms. Nelson.

As part of these discussions, teachers can teach their students how to evaluate sources.

“Where am I getting that information? Where is that source getting their sources from? Is it valid? Is it corroborated by other sources?” Mr. Stoneking reminds his students to ask.

These questions all help the “process of teaching kids how to think not what to think and giving them that ability to navigate a world in which truth is malleable,” Mr. Stoneking elaborates. He emphasizes that, “everybody’s social feed is full of some sort of spin on what’s going on.” This makes students’ ability to evaluate sources all the more important.

Social media can often only portray one side of the story.

“I may not hear something until I talk to you and hear what you’re listening to,” Mr. Doan explains. Class discussions allow this to happen.

Through learning to talk about controversial topics, listening to one another, and critically evaluating information, students learn the power behind their words.

As Mr. Stoneking puts it, “Words become thoughts, and thoughts become actions.”