First Amendment

Learn more about how the freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly play out in schools
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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4 min read
Illustration of a paper airplane made from a newspaper.
DigitalVision Vectors
Student Well-Being Student Journalists Want to Cover Politics. Not Everyone Agrees They Should
Student journalists are grappling with controversial topics—a lesson in democracy that's becoming increasingly at risk for pushback.
Brooke Schultz, November 1, 2024
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7 min read
Law themed still life featuring Themis statue, judge gavel and scale of justice in a law library.
iStock / Getty Images
Law & Courts A School Board Tried to Make Public Comments Civil. It Went Too Far, Court Says
The rules blocked protected speech or were inconsistently applied, judges say.
Mark Walsh, October 9, 2024
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4 min read
Bible laying on a school desk in an empty classroom full of desks.
E+
Equity & Diversity Explainer Religion in Public Schools, Explained
Public schools cannot promote any particular religion, and they must respect the individual religious beliefs of students and staff.
Evie Blad, August 23, 2024
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10 min read
Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse, Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court on Wednesday, July 17, refused to lift a judge's order temporarily blocking the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule meant to expand protections for LGBTQ+ students
Supporters of transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. A federal appeals court has refused to block an Ohio school district's policy that bars students from intentionally misgendering classmates by using pronouns that don't align with students' gender identity.
Patrick Orsagos/AP
Law & Courts A District's Rule Against Misgendering Students Is Likely Constitutional
A federal appeals court did not block a policy barring students from using pronouns that don't align with a classmate's gender identity.
Mark Walsh, July 30, 2024
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4 min read
Human hand holding a magnifying glass over open holy bible book of Exodus verses for Ten Commandments, top view
Marinela Malcheva/iStock/Getty
States Does a Ten Commandments Display in Classrooms Violate the Constitution?
Louisiana is poised to become the first state to require all schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Libby Stanford, June 13, 2024
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7 min read
ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman, left, and Liam Morrison speak at a press conference following oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Feb. 8, 2024.
David Cortman, senior counsel and vice president of Alliance Defending Freedom, left, and middle school student Liam Morrison speak to reporters following oral arguments over Morrison's "There Are Only Two Genders" T-shirt before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston on Feb. 8, 2024.
Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom
Law & Courts Court Backs School That Barred Student's 'Two Genders' Shirt
The court said the shirt could be understood to demean transgender and gender-nonconforming students, and administrators could prohibit it.
Mark Walsh, June 10, 2024
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5 min read
Students walk into the front doors at Hinsdale Middle High School, in Hinsdale, N.H., on the first day of school on Aug. 30, 2022.
Students walk into Hinsdale Middle High School, in Hinsdale, N.H., in August 2022. A federal judge has struck down a New Hampshire law that bars the teaching of "divisive concepts" to K-12 students.
Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Law & Courts Federal Judge Overturns New Hampshire Law on Teaching 'Divisive Concepts'
The judge holds that the law is unconstitutionally vague because it does not make clear to educators what topics they may not teach.
Mark Walsh, May 28, 2024
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4 min read
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