Don’t Walk This Way – Public School Walk Outs, School Discipline, and the First Amendment

Public School Walk Outs

Previously, many groups were encouraging children in public schools to walk out of class as specified times to protest gun laws.  In many cases, these protests are allowed or even encouraged by public schools.  In other places, students face discipline for leaving class.  Does the First Amendment protect a right to walk out of school?

Does the First Amendment Apply?

Although the Courts have held that students have some First Amendment rights to freedom of speech in schools, the schools can prevent conduct that interferes with the operation of the school.  Specifically, schools can apply the normal discipline that would apply to a student leaving class or failing to attend class for other reasons.

School Speech Regulation

However, schools’ speech regulation must be “content neutral.”  Schools cannot give worse than the regular consequence to students for leaving class just because they are leaving to protest.  Also, if schools have allowed students to walk out for other protests, they may be precluded from preventing walkouts for a different cause.

For this reason, public schools that allow students to walk out for gun protests do so at their peril.  By doing so, they may be creating a right for other students to stage walkouts, even for causes that seem less important or that are far less popular.

 Sam Ventola has a wide variety of experience in free speech and First Amendment litigation, legal education, and mediation.  When not protecting free speech, he enjoys volunteering in his community and spending time with his family, especially his grandson, Jack. 

Ventola Law serves the Denver Metro area including Arvada, Aurora, Boulder, Brighton, Commerce City, Castle Rock, Golden, Lakewood, Littleton and Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas and Jefferson Counties.