Frequently Asked Questions

Below are all of the FAQs contained in the ACLU-Vermont’s Student Rights Handbook. The questions are organized in sections. The section heads are freedom of speech, pledge of allegiance, dress codes, books, clubs and actitivies, freedom of religion, search and seizure, equal protection and discrimination, due process and discipline, sexual health and education, and student records and privacy.

Once you find the question for which you want an answer, click the section head to navigate to any of the questions within that section.

Freedom of Speech

• What is freedom of speech?

• Do I have a right to freedom of speech while I am in school?

• Can the school place limits and restrictions on expressive activities, such as speech?

• Can school officials ban speech that they claim is false?

• Can school officials prevent me from expressing an opinion because they think it is too controversial?

• Can I be punished for saying or writing something provocative at school?

• What about a Web site?

Pledge Of Allegiance

• Can I be made to recite the Pledge of Allegiance?

• What about a moment of silence?

Dress Codes

• Can the school tell me what I can or can’t wear?

• Can a school’s dress code keep students from wearing T-shirts that have certain slogans or messages on them?

• Can my school make me wear a school uniform?

• Can the school say I can’t wear my hair in a certain way or say I can’t have a mustache?

Books

• Can school officials remove books from the school library?

• If schools can censor books, can they censor the Internet through controls on access?

Clubs and Activities

• Can a school refuse to allow an after-school club, such as a gay-straight alliance, to meet at the school because the group’s views are unpopular or controversial?

• What rights do I have to protest and organize?

• Can students be prevented from distributing leaflets in school?

• Can students start non-curricular clubs?

Freedom Of Religion

• What is freedom of religion, and what does it entail?

• Can a school allow Christmas programs or other types of religious pageants or displays?

• Can school officials sponsor prayers or other religious exercises in school?

• What about a moment of silence?

• Do I have to participate in religious activities at school?

• Can we learn about religion in class? Can we read religious materials as part of our curriculum?

• What about prayers or religious references at graduation or other school ceremonies?

• Can student groups hold religious meetings on school property?

• Is it legal for students to hold “prayer rallies ‘round the flagpole”?

Search & Seizure

• Can a principal or teacher search me?

• What is “reasonable suspicion”?

• Can school officials search the entire student body or an entire class just because they suspect one student of wrongdoing?

• Can school officials search my locker?

• Can the school turn evidence they seize over to police? Can that evidence be used against me in a criminal proceeding?

• Can a school bring in drug-sniffing dogs for searches?

• Can I say “no” to a search?

• What limits are there on police in school?

• Can the school make me take blood, urine, or breathalyzer tests for drugs and alcohol?

Equal Protection & Discrimination

• Can schools discriminate against students because of their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation?

• Can schools offer certain sports programs only to boys or girls?

• What about other kinds of programs? Can classes be segregated by sex?

• Can I bring a date of the same sex to the school prom?

• Can I be denied a public education because of my immigration status?

• What if my primary language is not English?

• What if I have special needs or am disabled?

Due Process & Discipline

• What is due process?

• What due process rights do students have in school?

• Does the law require schools to have written codes of discipline?

• What can a student be suspended or expelled for?

• Can students be punished at school for something they did off-campus?

• Is corporal punishment at school legal?

Sexual Health & Education

• Are students entitled to learn about HIV/AIDS, birth control, pregnancy, and abortion at school?

• Can a student be kicked out of school for being pregnant?

• Can a student with HIV or AIDS go to school?

• Do I need my parents’ consent to get birth control? Will my parents be told? Do I need my parents’ consent for an abortion?

Student Records & Privacy

• What are student records, and what is in mine?

• Are my student records private?

• What about records concerning sensitive matters such as HIV status or abortion?

• Do military recruiters have access to my records?

• Can I see my records?

Students Rights Handbook index:

• Introduction
• Overview of student rights
• Where your rights come from
• FAQs -- Free speech
• FAQs -- Pledge of Allegiance
• FAQs -- Dress codes
• FAQs -- Book censorship
• FAQs -- Clubs and activities
• FAQs -- Religion
• FAQs -- Search and seizure
• FAQs -- Equal protection and discrimination
• FAQs -- Due process and discipline
• FAQs -- Sexual health and education
• FAQs -- Student records and privacy
• All FAQs
• Be your own advocate -- Stand up for your rights