Seminar On First Amendment in Schools

3 units

Enrollment limit: 16. This seminar explores the theory and applications of the First Amendment to the school setting that has emerged since Tinker's famous dictum that neither students nor teachers shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate. Possible topics include student newspapers, student speeches, religious expression (both free exercise and establishment dimensions), hate speech, compelled speech, the classroom environment, loitering ordinances, social media, student privacy, public employee speech, academic freedom, and political dissent. The seminar also integrates service learning, with an eye toward developing student teachers for the Marshall Brennan program (a spring practicum). Although formal participation in Marshall Brennan is not required, all seminar students will be required to meet weekly with area high school students to discuss aspects of the course content with them and to learn how these issues play out on the ground. Seminar grade is based on class participation (including the weekly meeting with high school students) and two 10-12 page writing assignments.