Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student rights on trial

In 1965, school officials in Des Moines, Iowa, banned the wearing of black armbands by students mourning the dead in the Vietnam War. When the students wore the armbands anyway, they were suspended. Were the students’ constitutional rights violated? Are students in public schools entitled to Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution? Readers will sit in the judge’s chair and decide who is right. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in this case still affects the rights and limitations of free speech in schools. 

Doreen Rappaport uses primary source materials such as newspaper articles, letters, and actual testimony from the trial to tell this story. Readers use their powers of critical thinking to make up their own minds about the merits of the case.

Award-winning author Doreen Rappaport is known for her meticulous research and compelling writing. Her other books in the StarWalk Kids Media Library include Living Dangerously: American Women Who Risked Their Lives for Adventure, The School Is Not White, and The Flight of Red Bird.