From Armbands to T-Shirts: Student Speech and the First Amendment

At the National Constitution Center, we value civil dialogue, which empowers students to speak about constitutional and historical topics in ways that remain civil, respectful, and reflective. As you prepare to discuss these topics in your classroom, we encourage you to establish norms such as:

• Stay calm
• Listen patiently
• Listen actively
• Don’t speak twice until everybody has spoken once

You can find more support for establishing norms and civil dialogue practices in our Civil Dialogue Toolkit.

Media Asset

National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog – Federal judge issues injunction in First Amendment school T-shirts dispute, by Scott Bomboy

Big Constitutional Question

When can a public school limit what students say, wear, or do to express a message?

Headline Story

In March 2026, a group of students at Florida International University (FIU), a public university in Miami, attended an indoor campus event wearing T-shirts that read “ICE OFF FIU.” The group opposes FIU’s agreement giving its campus police the powers of federal Immigration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. During the event, seven members stood up and faced the audience in a silent protest that lasted more than one minute. No one at the event complained.

FIU disciplined the students who stood during the event, saying they broke a rule that bans protests and “other similar expressive activities” inside university buildings. The students sued, arguing that the punishment violated their First Amendment rights. On August 23, 2026, a federal judge in Miami blocked the school’s punishment, concluding that the students were likely to win their First Amendment challenge. Her decision relied on a landmark Supreme Court case from 1969, Tinker v. Des Moines. FIU said it will comply with the court’s order while it considers its legal options.

Supreme Court Cases Library: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

In December 1965, a group of students in Des Moines, Iowa, wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. School officials had adopted a policy that any student wearing an armband would be asked to remove it and suspended if they refused. The students were suspended. They then sued the school, arguing that the school violated their First Amendment rights. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court agreed with the students.

Writing for the Court, Justice Abe Fortas held that students retain their free speech rights at school. However, schools have the authority to punish their expression if it “materially or substantially interfere[d]” with the school’s operation. The Court concluded that there was no evidence of disruption in Tinker. Instead, school officials only feared that disruption might happen, and that, according to the Court, was not enough to justify the punishment.

More than 55 years later, a federal judge applied Tinker to the FIU case.

Reflection Questions

1. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but that protection has limits. In Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court agreed that wearing a black armband was a form of speech, but the protections were not absolute. Based on Tinker, when is a public school allowed to punish student expression?
2. Think about the black armbands in Tinker and the T-shirts and silent protest at FIU. Name one way the two protests are alike and one way they are different. Now put yourself in FIU’s position. What would you argue? Which differences between Tinker and the FIU case might FIU argue are important? How might these two cases be treated differently in the courts? Why might those differences be present?
3. FIU said it values free expression, but it also has a responsibility to keep campus operations running smoothly and ensure that everyone is safe and able to participate in school activities. How can a school protect students’ free speech and keep things running smoothly?

Extension Activities

1. Constitution 101: How have other Supreme Court cases explained free speech? Using Activity 10.4: Speech Quotation Analysis from Constitution 101 (High School), students work in groups to read the First Amendment Quotes from famous free speech cases, including Tinker v. Des Moines. For each quote, students should define words they don’t know, explain the quote in their own words and connect it to the Court’s decision. Next, students read the Supreme Court Cases Library entry for Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), where the Court said students’ free speech rights in public schools “are not automatically coextensive with” (not always the same as) “the rights of adults in other settings.” As a class, discuss: Why might the First Amendment apply differently inside a public school than in public life outside of school? Does that reasoning apply the same way at a public university like FIU? Then, each group picks the quote they think best fits the FIU case and explains why, using facts from the blog post.
2. NCC Education Protocols: Using the National Constitution Center’s Scope of Agreement protocol, students read a short source and break its argument into parts. As they read, they put a star next to each main point and underline the evidence that supports it. Then, on the Scope of Agreement graphic organizer, they list two or three points, write the evidence for each, and mark on a scale how much they agree with each point. Finally, they explain why, using the evidence they found.
   1. Example source: The “Judge’s Ruling” section of the blog post, where Judge Becerra explains why FIU’s punishment likely violates the First Amendment.
   2. Pairing option: Have half the class use Justice Fortas’s majority opinion and the other half use Justice Black’s dissent from Tinker v. Des Moines. Then, have students compare how much they agree with each justice, and why. Remember to focus on constitutional reasoning, not one’s policy preferences.
3. Class Speech Agreement: Using what they learned from Tinker, students write an agreement for how everyone in the class will share opinions. First, small groups draft ideas. Next, the class combines the best ideas into one agreement, votes on the final version, and posts it in the room. Later in the year, the class looks at it again: Is it working? What would they change? The agreement should include:
   1. An opening statement, in their own words, about why students keep their free speech rights at school. (Hint: Use the “schoolhouse gate” quote.)
   2. Three to five ways to share opinions without getting in the way of learning. (For example, “We let others finish before we respond.”)
   3. What do we do when we disagree? (For example, respond to the idea, not the person.)
   4. What counts as a disruption in our classroom? What should happen if one occurs?

Beyond the Headlines

• NCC Resources
  • Interactive Constitution
    • First Amendment: Freedom of Speech and Press
  • America’s Town Hall
    • Jeffrey Rosen and Ali Velshi Discuss Free Speech Student Case at Supreme Court, May 4, 2021
  • Supreme Court Cases Library
    • Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
    • Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
  • Constitution Daily Blog
    • Supreme Court rejects new test about public school students and free speech, June 11, 2026
    • Tinker v. Des Moines: Protecting student free speech, February 24, 2017
    • Supreme Court narrowly protects student free speech online, June 24, 2021
  • First Amendment Gallery
    • Background of Tinker v. Des Moines | Mary Beth Tinker (video, from the First Amendment exhibit)
  • Classroom Resources
    • Student Town Hall
      • Celebrating Youth Voices: Tinker v. Des Moines, interview with Mary Beth Tinker, September 18, 2023
    • Constitution in the Headlines
      • A Sacred River and a City Park: Religious Liberty at the Supreme Court, October 2, 2026
    • Constitution 101
      • Constitution 101, Module 10: The First Amendment (High School)
      • Constitution 101, Module 10: The First Amendment (Middle School)
    • Lesson Plans & Resources
      • First Amendment – Free Speech Lessons
      • First Amendment – Speech and Press Class Slide Deck
      • First Amendment – Speech and Press Class Briefing Document
    • Classroom Resources by Topic
      • First Amendment: Speech and Press Clauses