Social media is ubiquitous in today's society, and classrooms are not exempt. When social media interrupts education, whether by preventing engagement with the lesson or by creating inappropriate interactions or relationships, policies must be put in place to keep learning the priority. With that caution, though, school districts must be sure to…

America's colleges and universities are supposed to be strongholds of classically liberal ideals, including the protection of individual rights and openness to debate and inquiry. Too often, this is not the case. Across the country, universities deny students and faculty their fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression. The report…

Enshrined in the First Amendment as part of the Bill of Rights that was added to the then 4 year old US Constitution in 1791, it should be no surprise that freedom of speech may be perhaps the most cherished right of Americans. If anything, freedom of speech, which is properly treated as a fundamental human right for children, certainly stands out…

America's founders granted to the press, alone among private institutions, the task of protecting the Constitution. Washington, DC correspondents are aware of this responsibility and proud of their independence. (SR)

Americans are constantly reevaluating their commitment to First Amendment rights and values and rearranging their priorities, asking themselves whether life would be more civil, more orderly, less threatening if the excesses of expression were somehow more subdued. That clear sense of unease permeates this second State of the First Amendment…

Article reviews court decisions on the issue of male students' right to wear long hair styles in school. Author summarizes by suggesting probable outcomes of hair-style cases in the various states. (Editor/CB)

Concludes that the MacBride Commission's approach offers both a physical foundation and a set of protective principles for development of worldwide communication freedom and thus passes the basic test of compatibility with U.S. constitutional norms. (PD)

The original United States Constitution of 1787, specifically in the communication related provisions of Article 1, deals extensively with communication issues, and provides an illustration of the tensions that existed between freedom and suppression. Philosophically, there was support for freedom of expression while in real world events there was…

This lesson relates to freedom of speech and freedom of the press as provided for in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Government. It presents seven primary source documents regarding Thomas Cooper's trial for sedition in 1800. Cooper was…

This paper explores the rights of authors before publication of their works, if those works are to be published at all, and how these rights might yield to fair use of the works by other authors. Firstly, the paper examines the interests at stake of the three main groups involved: authors, the public, and people who wish to quote or closely…

Teaching freedom of speech to undergraduates is a difficult task, in part as a result of the challenging history of free expression in the United States. The difficulty is compounded by the need to teach the topic, in contrast to indoctrinating the students in an ideology of free speech. The Bill of Rights, and specifically the First Amendment,…

Reviews the controversy of teaching evolution and creationism in public schools from the early years of the twentieth century until today. Identifies two stages of the legal challenges to the teaching of evolution. Contends that academic freedom issues may provide another avenue to the Supreme Court for those supporting creationism. (CFR)

During the past 150 years U.S. courts have demonstrated a special protectiveness toward academics and academic institutions. Academic freedom was not a concern when the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment were drafted and is not mentioned in the "Federalist Papers." However, decisions by a series of Supreme Court justices led to…

Offers seven reflections on the First Amendment and related issues by attorneys, a professor, project directors, and a university president. Highlights an activity where pairs of students prepare either a pro or con argument for each of the seven excerpts and then participate in a debate. (CMK)

Provides a crossword puzzle with twelve across and down clues that addresses the various facts and concepts about the First Amendment and related issues that were discussed throughout this issue of "Update on Law-related Education." Explains that students should ponder the information they learned in order to complete the puzzle. (CMK)