Bethel School District v. Fraser

478 U.S. 675 (1986)

by

Sam Robbins

Bethel School District v. Fraser started when a student, Matthew Fraser, at Bethel School, gave a nomination speech to his classmates that the administration deemed inappropriate.  This point was made clear even before Fraser gave the speech, as Frasier was told by two teachers that he probably should not give the speech.  However, Fraser thought he could get away with the speech because it did not technically contain any obscene words.  Frasier was suspended for two days and was not allowed to speak at graduation, because the speech was considered “disruptive behavior”.  Frasier then sued the school and the district court ruled in his favor.  Then Bethel School District appealed to the circuit court of appeals, which, once again, ruled in Fraser’s favor.  After that, the school district requested that the Supreme Court of the United States hear the case.  The Supreme Court heard the case and, in a 7-2 ruling, sided with the school district. 

This case falls under the First Amendment because Fraser felt that his right to free speech was violated.  It also falls under the Fourteenth Amendment because of the incorporation doctrine, which makes the Bill of Rights applicable to the state level.  The Supreme Court decided that the First Amendment does not protect a student at a public school to give a lewd, but not obscene, speech.  This means that even though Fraser did not use any explicit words in his speech, he is still held responsible by the school for giving an inappropriate speech.

There are a few reasons why the Supreme Court favored the school district.  In a previous Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court claimed that a student does not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."  From this statement one would think that Fraser would be free and clear.  However, in Tinker, the issue at hand was protest armbands.  The armbands were a passive display of expression that did not interrupt school, whereas Fraser’s speech interrupted a few classes that were forced to set aside time to discuss Fraser’s speech.  This made the court view Bethel School District v. Fraser as an exemption to the Tinker test, or as a limit to Tinker.  So basically, the Court felt that the school district’s punishment of Frasier did not violate the Speech Clause of the First Amendment.