Student Rights

3 Pages 718 Words

Student Rights


Student rights policies have changed over the years. Up until the 80’s student were able to do more then they are now for example, smoking cigarettes was allowed in special rooms in the school building. Children in most schools were allowed to leave without problem for their lunch break but now most schools confined the students to the property and will be punished if they leave. Many students who attend public schools minors and don’t enjoy the same rights as those of all Americans. Administrators think the discipline is necessary so an incident like Columbine doesn’t occur again. Civil libertarians wonder if such strict discipline in schools will result in a generation of people who feel like they are trapped in an unfairly targeted “age-specific police state”. (www.studentrights.com)
In more recent years a “zero-tolerance” policy has brought school restrictions to lengths that are thought to be absurd. "Zero-tolerance” policy allows no second chance. If your caught doing something against the rules of the school the “zero-tolerance” means that they are immediately kicked out. For example, students have been expelled for giving classmates aspirin because it was having a drug in school. Students have even been expelled for writing scary stories and doing it too successfully. When did our freedom to write our ideas down on paper successfully become an issue?
The student rights issues have been broken down into two categories: free speech and privacy/search and seizure. The “zero-tolerance” policy applies to both categories. The spring 2002 edition of the Student Press Law Center’s report newsletter states “High school censorship seems to occur in an ever-growing set of circumstances.” (www.studentrights.com) Now there are restrictions on student web sites and student media advisers who have tried to help in the fight for student rights have been rejected. There have even been s...