#1 In our rankings and accepting of free speech is the Pittsburgh Public School System. Pittsburgh Public Schools (the urban educational atmosphere of the three) lead the three studied environments in terms of allowing their students an abundance of free speech. The handbook for Pittsburgh Public was descriptive and established the proper laws and rules for a school environment. The document also left an abundance of caution in terms of limiting student rights. As shown in the table, these students enjoy the most free schooling environments in terms of speech and these students benefit from a seemingly very supportive administration.

#2 in our Power Rankings for speech goes to Mt. Lebanon High School (suburban.) For a very detailed look at this school's handbook, check out our case study page. Mt. Lebanon students benefit from a mostly supportive environment in terms of speech, but these kids must be careful for many broad, "umbrella" type rules. For the most part, however, Mt. Lebanon students enjoy plenty of free speech liberties with slight censorship from the administration.

#3 in our Power Rankings falls to Plum Borough. The students at Plum, most recently, were forced to protest after administration told them that they could not discuss scandals currently plaguing the school staff. We found the handbook rhetoric rather strong and harsh, limiting most of the liberties that would be found at Mt. Lebanon or especially Pittsburgh Public. The administration should consider major changes in their policies, so that their students may benefit from a diverse marketplace of ideas critical to a meaningful education.