Applying Morse v. Frederick to a fictional scenario.
Skyline High School observes Constitution Day and Citizenship Day every year with a school assembly. The program is in keeping with a 2004 Congressional mandate requiring that schools receiving federal funds teach about the Constitution on the anniversary of its signing on September 17.
This year, the principal and student body president agree to have a school-sponsored car parade instead of an assembly. The theme is lowering the voting age to 16 -- proposing a 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Students are allowed to decorate their vehicles and form a parade line at school that goes through the downtown area.
The parade, which is scheduled during the lunch hour, attracts the participation of students driving cars and vans with banners and rear windshield signs with messages, including:
- Hey Boomers! You Blew It. Let 16-Year-Olds Vote.
- 16 is the New 18.
In a parking lot adjacent to school property, where 40 vehicles are lining up for the parade, Principal Annette Clark approaches the side of Julian Sampson’s van where he has strung up a banner reading: “Bong Hits 4 Voting.” She asks him about it and requests that he take it down. When Julian refuses, Ms. Clark pulls the banner off the van.
Julian tells her that he is exercising his right to free speech under the Constitution. He says that if 16-year-olds vote, they can legalize marijuana, which is on the ballot this year. He drives off using a bullhorn to chant: “Bong Hits 4 Voting.” A few blocks down the street, he gets out of the van and writes the slogan on his back windshield.
The administration gives Julian a five-day suspension for violating a school policy that prohibits the promotion of illegal drugs. Julian sues the principal and the school district claiming that his speech was political and protected by the First Amendment. He was communicating a get-out-the-vote message – something that everyone can get behind. The school argues that the speech was not protected by the First Amendment. The sign broke an anti-drug school policy designed to maintain order and a positive learning environment in the student body.