HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TINKER!

It’s only appropriate that this new blog, “Substantial Disruption,” be officially launched on the 40th birthday of Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School District, the seminal case in the of freedom of expression by students in American public schools.  In fact, this blog takes its name from the “substantial disruption” test laid down by the Tinker Court, a test that has guided student free speech cases for four decades.  The name of this blog is also an homage to the late blog, “At the Schoolhouse Gate,” by Professor Scott McLeod of Iowa State, a noble effort that the author of this blog humbly wishes to build on.

These days, the lessons of Tinker are challenged by two major developments:  the introduction of the Internet and cyberbullying, and the recent case of Morse v Frederick.  While other cases such as the Hazelwood case and Bethel v Fraser have drawn some limits around the expansive Tinker opinion, none has threated student free expression like Morse.  One of the major goals of this blog is to examine and discuss the developing law of student speech in the age of the Internet and make sure that our nation’s commitment to liberty is not undermined by unthinking overreactions to the challenges of the modern era.  I invite all educators, attorneys, school officials, researchers, students, parents, and other who are concerned about freedom of expression in our schools to read and contribute to this blog.  More importantly, please tell others about it.  This blog, “Substantial Disruption,” can become a national forum for discussing and advancing both law and best practices in student expression and the correction of bullying and cyberbullying in schools.

So, on this important anniversary, I invite any and all to join the blog and help generate creative “Substantial Disruption.”

MIKE TULLY