Fairfax City School Board v. K.E. Minor : Free Speech Rights & Appropriate Behavior in Public Schools

Fairfax City School Board v. K.E. Minor was a special case that addressed the equal balance between the protection of free speech rights and the governmental authorities’ interest in dealing with socially appropriate behavior in public schools. When the problem arises concerning the lack of supervision as one of the most well-known child neglect problems in the City of Fairfax, Fairfax City School Board developed guidelines to help parents deal with these particular problems.

Sometimes parents have to face such a problem that class time and administrative duties can be affected in a very negative way. The reasons for this behavior may be different. Absence of positive emotions and satisfaction from study and extracurricular activities; Inability to communicate and find contact with peers; Backlog in learning, difficulties in mastering the material; “Semantic barrier” between the teacher and the student; Transition from one class (school) to another; Non-acceptance by classmates in their team (negative interpersonal relationships in the classroom); Lack of interest of parents in the affairs of the child; “The opinion of the company” – the influence of friends, buddies in the yard; Awareness of the child that he is studying in an off-standard school (correctional).

As a result, the School District banned the use of stickers that demonstrated the statement “Screw Hate, Don’t Discriminate” because of its lewd nature of the meaning of the word “screw.” What is more, the School District noticed that the stickers caused a substantial disturbance that led to the fact that class time and administrative duties were negatively affected.  All in all, this campaign led to organized disobedience at school. 

In this case, the question arises: Does Fairfax City School Board’s ban of the “Screw Hate, Don’t Discriminate” stickers violate the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment?  Let’s consider all the dissenting opinions to discuss which opinion (majority or dissent) is the most reasonable one.

The majority states that The School District was in very good compliance with its rules and obligations under the First Amendment. Schools are responsible for regulating lewd, indecent, or offensive speech in a proper way. Besides, different dictionary definitions admit that “screw” is a lewd and offensive word. All in all, the ban of “Screw Hate” stickers was a constitutional action. However, others stated that the “Screw Hate” stickers could not lead to disciplinary issues at the school, and it was not reasonable to ban them. Despite the fact that the optimal position of the parent should be directed to the benefit of the child (it involves critical attitude of parents for their mistakes and reasonable expression of his love for children), these particular stickers should be banned because they, in fact, led to the fact that class time and administrative duties were affected in a very negative way.

Thus, taking the above-mentioned information into consideration, it is possible to draw a conclusion that our modern world sharply addresses the equal balance between the protection of free speech rights and the governmental authorities’ interest in dealing with socially appropriate behavior in public schools. This fact gives rise to different opinions in society as a whole. All in all, both opinions were provided and I personally agree that the School District was in very good compliance with its rules and obligations under the First Amendment.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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