"Tinker v. Des Moines" by Justice Abe Fortas In West Virginia v. Barnette, supra, this Court held that, under the First Amendment, the student in public school may not be compelled to salute the flag. Speaking through Mr. Justice Jackson, the Court said: “The Fourteenth Amendment, as now applied to the States, protects the citizen against the State itself and all of its creatures -- Boards of Education not excepted. These have, of course, important, delicate, and highly discretionary functions, but none that they may not perform within the limits of the Bill of Rights. That they are educating the young for citizenship is reason for scrupulous protection of Constitutional freedoms of the individual, if we are not to strangle the free mind at its source and teach youth to discount important principles of our government as mere platitudes.” On the other hand, the Court has repeatedly emphasized the need for affirming the comprehensive authority of the States and of school officials, consistent with fundamental constitutional safeguards, to prescribe and control conduct in the schools. Our problem lies in the area where students in the exercise of First Amendment rights collide with the rules of the school authorities. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) Question Use the excerpt from the Supreme Court majority opinion in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, written by Justice Fortas, to answer the question. How does the quotation from a prior case strengthen the ruling in Tinker? (1 point) Responses by comparing saluting the flag to anti-war protests by comparing saluting the flag to anti-war protests by citing the precedent that Boards of Education must act within the Bill of Rights by citing the precedent that Boards of Education must act within the Bill of Rights by emphasizing the importance of public protest by emphasizing the importance of public protest by challenging the idea that students maintain their First Amendment rights at school by challenging the idea that students maintain their First Amendment rights at school

Answer 1

The quotation from West Virginia v. Barnette strengthens the ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines by citing the precedent that Boards of Education must act within the Bill of Rights. In the Barnette case, the Court affirmed that students cannot be compelled to salute the flag, highlighting the constitutional protections that apply to individuals within the school system. This precedent underscores the importance of protecting the First Amendment rights of students, even in a school environment, suggesting that while school officials have authority, it does not extend to infringing on constitutional freedoms. Fortas emphasizes that the rights of students must be safeguarded to prevent the suppression of free thought and expression, paralleling the anti-war protests in Tinker which were also expressions of free speech.