“Change is Inevitable”: How the First Amendment Safety-Valve Theory Can Expand Protections for Student Expression

Authors

Leslie Klein, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jonathan Peters, University of GeorgiaFollow

Abstract

This article challenges the traditional notion that the regulation and protection of student expression in public schools should be based primarily or exclusively on the marketplace theory, which often reinforces the status quo. The safety valve theory is more appropriate and should be applied, especially in the current political and social climate, to inspire an expansion of student speech and press rights that would support expressive activities seeking to change the public discourse around important issues. Students who can speak freely will be more willing to accept decisions that go against them, and a school environment in which passionate or alienated students can let off steam will be more stable and less susceptible to resorts to violence. At the heart of this analysis is the critical distinction between positively and adversely disruptive student expression.

Recommended Citation

13 Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality 107