The Supreme Court and the Decline of Students\u27 Constitutional Rights: A Selective Analysis

The United States Supreme Court has rendered decisions delineating students\u27 rights of free speech and expression, freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, procedural due process, and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. These decisions have not always been consistent, not only with each other but also with cases decided at the same time in other contexts. Without a doubt, much of the inconsistency can be attributed to a changing perception of the vitality of individual rights in general, and the conditions within the public school system. The purpose of this article is to scrutinize these decisions with regard to their internal reasoning and their impact as policy. In addition, there is an examination of what this author believes to be the most recent area of students\u27 rights the Court has begun to develop: those protected by the free exercise clause of the first amendment. This examination is made in light of the school prayer decisions and other students\u27 rights cases studied herein. I. Introduction II. Freedom of Speech and Expression III. Procedural Due Process IV. Eighth Amendment—Cruel and Unusual Punishment V. Freedom from Unreasonable Search and Seizure VI. Free Exercise Rights VII. Conclusio