We hear the words “free speech” all the time, but what do those words mean, exactly? Why is free speech important? Is it legal to say hate speech? The First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, also protects freedom of the press. But what does that mean? Sometimes the news media can be annoying … so why is it still important that the press remains so free?

Maybe you’ve wondered whether you, as a student at a public high school, lose your rights when you walk into school or post something to social media. Maybe your school has a newspaper. Does it have the same rights as any other newspaper?

The purpose of this lesson is to start answering these questions and introduce you to the basic principles of freedom of speech and press in the United States, both in society at large and within public high schools.

After this lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain major principles of freedom of speech.

• Explain major principles of press freedom.

• Compare and contrast First Amendment standards in society at large with First Amendment standards for high school students.

• Apply principles of freedom of speech and press in public high schools to hypothetical scenarios.