Debating homosexuality in schools: Censorship doesn't work - Inside the First Amendment

This may be about a specific topic, but I believe the same principles hold true in almost all situations.

... Too many school officials try to duck the controversy through censorship. But these efforts to stifle the debate over homosexuality are based on the false hope that harmony and tolerance will prevail if no one is allowed to say anything that might offend anyone.

This was the failed strategy administrators employed against Elliott Chambers... who insisted on wearing a sweatshirt with the words "Straight Pride." After the principal ordered him to stop wearing the shirt, Chambers sued for the right to express his views. The court ruled... that genuine tolerance in an educational setting includes tolerance for a diversity of views – even views that others may find offensive...

Sweeping polices strictly limiting student speech (for or against homosexuality) are not only wrongheaded, but also are likely to be struck down as unconstitutional. A few years ago, two high school students in Pennsylvania challenged an anti-harassment policy that prohibited a wide range of potentially "offensive" speech, including speech directed at another’s "values." The students claimed that the policy would ban them from stating their religious beliefs about homosexuality and other topics. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, holding that such a broadly worded policy violates the First Amendment.

Of course, protecting the free speech of students doesn’t mean "anything goes" in a public school. Schools can (and should) ban name-calling and other forms of harassment. And if there is clear evidence that student speech has caused substantial disruption of the school, then it shouldn’t be allowed. But schools should refrain from censoring student viewpoints – for or against homosexuality – merely because such views may offend someone or make some students uncomfortable.

If censorship and strict speech codes aren’t the answer, what is? Let students speak, but simultaneously teach them how to express their views with civility and respect. By linking First Amendment rights to civic responsibility, schools create a learning environment that is safe for all students – but also free.