Do you have freedom of speech in school? Last Friday, during a "Party in the U.S.A" spirit day at Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona students were asked to take down a "Make America Great Again" (commonly referred to as "MAGA") banner. Students also reported being asked to remove MAGA hats, though the school officials state they never made this request. The incidents upset some students and parents who latter held a protest of approximately 50 outside the school the following Monday. Perry High School sophomores who participated said they support students' right to Free Speech. However, do students have the same rights on campus that they do off of campus? The Supreme Court has had several landmark cases on the subject some of which do limit student speech on a school premise like Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier and Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraiser and others that enforce a students right to freedom of speech like Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School. To learn more about freedom of speech read, "Freedom of Speech, What is and What it isn't".
Happening in School
This category encompasses activities happening throughout Arizona schools. This may include sporting events, clubs, field trips, in-class activities, talent shows, fundraisers, guest speakers, and other activities occurring in our schools. Write an article about what’s happening in Arizona schools! Disclaimer: Please do not include real names of people or schools in these articles.
Stacey Garcia was told that she couldn't play baseball for her middle school. If she wanted to play ball, it was going to have to be softball; but Stacey wanted to play baseball. She had already played in little league and wanted to continue so her parents went to the district. The district agreed that Stacey could tryout with the rest of the baseball hopefuls. She tried out and the next day met up with the coach. “He came up to me, showed me a list of all the names that made it, and he said congratulations and shook my hand, and I saw my name on there, which was really cool,” said Stacey, according to ABC 15. Stacey Garcia is now her Glendale middle school's baseball team and hopes to make to make it on her high school team next year.
The Arizona Department of Education is creating its first ever Student Advisory Council and you could be on it! "The purpose of the Student Advisory Council is to support Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman’s work to improve K-12 education in the state. Fifteen students will be chosen for the panel, and members will serve from October this year through July 2020. All meetings will take place in Phoenix, but students across the state can participate in the meetings via phone or video chat." Student must be between 5-12 years old and email 1-2 letters of recommendation from their peers to the Arizona Department of Educations. For more details about the program visit: https://www.azed.gov/adeinfo/student-advisory-council.
Now that you have some extra time on your hands, since Arizona’s Governor and Superintendent of Public Instruction announced that all Arizona schools will be closed, you may need to find some new things to do. Don't worry, we have you covered. Here is a list of some fun but still educational activities.
- Participate in the Law Day Contest
- Learn more about civics by playing icivics
- Compete in the 9th Circuit Civics Contest
- Weigh in on What Do You Think?
Enjoy!