NCJ Number
168523
Journal
Journal of Juvenile Law Volume: 17 Dated: (1996) Pages: 45-67
Date Published
1996
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This comment provides a brief overview of the development of First Amendment Freedom of Speech protection, focusing on the current state of the law as it relates to the selection of books within the public school system.
Abstract
The comment examines the criteria for the selection and removal of textbooks and library books, discusses unresolved questions concerning books in the public school system, and considers the future of First Amendment application in the public school system. The article examines cases and Court rulings concerning, among other things: (1) the role of public school education in teaching moral values to school children and in protecting young people from exposure to sexually explicit, indecent or lewd speech; (2) students' "right to receive" and school boards' decisions to remove books they find offensive; (3) the development of contextual standards for evaluating First Amendment rights of primary and secondary school students; and (4) when a school is justified in restricting students' free speech rights or removing books from school libraries or curriculums. Notes