Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

LAU V. NICHOLS (1974)

The San Francisco school system
didnt provide non-English speaking
Chinese students in its schools any
ways for them to receive a good
education. The U.S. Supreme Court
said the school system denied the
Chinese students, unlike the Englishspeaking students, a meaningful way
to participate in public education. This
discrimination was unacceptable:
Simple justice requires that public
funds, to which all taxpayers of all
races contribute, not be spent in any

fashion which encouragesor results

in racial discrimination.

Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

FRICKE V. LYNCH (1980)

Aaron Fricke asked Paul Guilbert to go
to the senior prom with him. The
principal at Aarons school wouldnt let
the two of them go together. He was
worried other students might be
offended or that it might get violent.
Aaron sued in the Rhode Island federal
court so that he could take Paul to the
prom. The court held that the school
violated Aarons free speech and free

association rights by denying him the

opportunity to go to the prom with the
date of his choice. Aaron was able to go
to the prom with Paul.

Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

TINKER V. DES MOINES

INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT (1969)
Thirteen-year-old Mary Beth Tinker
and four other students in Des Moines
protested the Vietnam War by wearing
black armbands to school. The school
punished Mary Beth and the other
students for wearing the armbands.

The Supreme Court sided with the

students. They said that students do
not shed their constitutional rights to
freedom of speech and expression at
the schoolhouse gate.

Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

OF TOPEKA (1954)
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously
declared that it was unconstitutional
to create separate schools for children
on the basis of race. The Brown ruling
ranks as one of the most important
Supreme Court decisions of the 20th

century. At the time of the decision, 17

states and the DC required that all
public schools be racially segregated.
Chief Justice Warren concluded by
saying that in the field of education
the doctrine of separate but equal has
no place. Separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal.

Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

SAFFORD UNIFIED SCHOOL

DISTRICT V. REDDING (2009)
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday
that school officials violated an Arizona
teenager's rights by strip-searching her

for prescription-strength ibuprofen,

declaring that U.S. educators cannot
force children to remove their clothing
unless student safety is at risk. In an
8-1 ruling, the justices said that
Safford Middle School officials violated
the Fourth Amendment ban on
unreasonable searches with their
treatment of Savana Redding.

Celebrating Constitution Day

The Constitution was completed on this day in 1787. - MVHS Government Team

LATOUR V. RIVERSIDE-BEAVER
SCHOOL DISTRICT (2005)
Middle-school student Anthony Latour

put rap music and lyrics he wrote on

the Internet. The music contained
obscene language. It also included a
rap challenge to another rapper,
which contained lyrics that sounded
threatening to people who didnt
understand rap but were typical of this
type of music. The school expelled
Anthony. A federal judge found that
the lyrics were not true threats and
that the school cannot punish Anthony
for the songs.