First Amendment

Learn more about how the freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly play out in schools
Make America Great Again hats are sold alongside other Trump memorabilia for the inauguration of Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Make America Great Again hats are sold alongside other Trump memorabilia for the inauguration of Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30, 2025, declined to hear two cases involving political speech in public schools, including one centered on a student who alleges he was bullied and harassed by classmates and teachers after wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Apolline Guillerot-Malick/Sipa via AP Images
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines to Hear Cases on Teacher, Student Political Speech
The justices refused to take up the cases of a teacher fired over social media posts and a student who alleged harassment over his MAGA hat.
Mark Walsh, June 30, 2025
•
5 min read
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023. A federal appeals court covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas has made it more difficult for public and school library patrons to challenge book removal decisions.
Hakim Wright Sr./AP
Law & Courts Appeals Court Ruling Raises Bar for Challenging School Book Bans
A federal appeals court rejected a challenge to book removals in a Texas public library and overruled a precedent on school library cases.
Mark Walsh, May 28, 2025
•
6 min read
Liam Morrison, pictured in the "There Are Only Two Genders" shirt at the heart of his Supreme Court case, L.M. v. Town of Middleborough.
Liam Morrison, pictured in the "There Are Only Two Genders" shirt at the heart of his Supreme Court case, <i>L.M.</i>&nbsp;v.&nbsp;<i>Town of Middleborough</i>.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Supreme Court Won’t Hear ‘Two Genders’ Student T-Shirt Case
Over two justices' dissent, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case of a student barred from wearing an anti-transgender T-shirt.
Mark Walsh, May 27, 2025
•
6 min read
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Supporters of religious charter schools rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 as the justices weighed Oklahoma's approval of such a charter. On May 22, the court tied 4-4, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that said such religious charters were unconstitutional.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Religious Charter School Blocked After Supreme Court Deadlock
The U.S. Supreme Court's 4-4 split over a religious charter school affirms a lower court ruling against the school but sets no precedent.
Mark Walsh, May 22, 2025
•
6 min read
Man and woman waiting around speech bubble hole
E+/Getty
Law & Courts Opinion What the Supreme Court Case on LGBTQ+ Books Reminds Us About Parents’ Rights
Regardless of which side wins Mahmoud v. Taylor, we have a big problem.
Jamie Kudlats & Christopher D. Thomas, May 15, 2025
•
5 min read
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Supporters of religious charter schools rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Appears Open to Religious Charter School
The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with whether charter schools are public schools and whether the Constitution permits a religious charter.
Mark Walsh, April 30, 2025
•
7 min read
Supreme Court 25091823131249
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington on April 1, 2025. The court on April 30 will take up a much-debated case about whether a state must allow a religious charter school.
Law & Courts Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Landscape for Charter and Religious Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 30 will take up the much-debated case of a Roman Catholic charter school in Oklahoma.
Mark Walsh, April 28, 2025
•
9 min read
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, Tuesday, April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ+ characters that are part of a U.S. Supreme Court case are pictured on April, 15, 2025, in Washington.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Leans Toward Parents on Opt-Outs for LGBTQ+ Lessons
The U.S. Supreme Court took up a case on whether religious parents may remove their children from public school lessons on LGBTQ+ topics.
Mark Walsh, April 22, 2025
•
6 min read
Jeff Roman works on homework with his son.
Jeff Roman, a parent who has religious concerns about LGBTQ+ storybooks used in the Montgomery County, Md., school district, works on homework with his son.
Courtesy of Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Law & Courts Supreme Court Faces Big Test on Religious Students' Opt-Outs From LGBTQ+ Books
The justices will weigh whether a school district must allow parents with religious objections to LGBTQ+ books to excuse their children.
Mark Walsh, April 17, 2025
•
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Law & Courts Opinion Can States Bar Religious Charter Schools? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions suggest that bans on faith-based charter schools may violate the Free Exercise Clause.
Rick Hess, March 25, 2025
•
13 min read
Students walk to class on the Indiana University campus, Oct. 14, 2021, in Bloomington, Ind.
The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 declined to take up a challenge to the bias-response policy of Indiana University, including at its Bloomington campus shown above.
Darron Cummings/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Won't Take Up Case on Schools' Bias-Response Policies
Over the dissents of two justices, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh a case about educational institutions' bias-reporting policies.
Mark Walsh, March 3, 2025
•
3 min read
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a "long-form educational content creator," livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Sarah Baus, left, of Charleston, S.C., and Tiffany Cianci, who says she is a "long-form educational content creator," livestream to TikTok outside the Supreme Court, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Law & Courts How Educators Feel About the Supreme Court's Decision to Uphold TikTok Ban
The Supreme Court upheld a law targeting TikTok, increasing the uncertainty for an app highly popular among U.S. educators and students.
Mark Walsh & Lauraine Langreo, January 17, 2025
•
6 min read
A picture of a gavel on a target.
Bill Oxford/Getty
Law & Courts Biden's Title IX Rule to Expand Protections of Trans Students Struck Down
The Title IX rule improperly expands sex-discrimination protection to gender identity, the judge ruled.
Mark Walsh, January 9, 2025
•
4 min read
Photo of Ten Commandments poster on school wall.
Getty
Law & Courts Ten Commandments Law for Public Schools Is 'Impermissible,' Judge Rules
The Louisiana law would require displays of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom.
Mark Walsh, November 12, 2024
•
4 min read
Load More ▼