| Bethel School District v. Fraser | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 3, 1986 Decided July 7, 1986 | |
| Full case name | Bethel School District No. 403 v. Matthew N. Fraser, a Minor, et al. |
| Citations | 478 U.S. 675 (more) 106 S. Ct. 3159; 92 L. Ed. 2d 549; 1986 U.S. LEXIS 139; 54 U.S.L.W. 5054 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Judgment for plaintiff; affirmed, 755 F.2d 1356 (9th Cir. 1985); cert. granted, 474 U.S. 814 (1985). |
| Holding | |
| The First Amendment, as applied through the Fourteenth, permits a public school to punish a student for giving a lewd and indecent, even if not obscene, speech at a school assembly. Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Burger, joined by White, Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor |
| Concurrence | Brennan (in judgment) |
| Concurrence | Blackmun (in result) |
| Dissent | Marshall |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 | |
Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court upheld the suspension of a high school student who delivered a sexually suggestive speech at a school assembly. The case involved free speech in public schools.
On April 26, 1983, student Matthew Fraser was suspended from Bethel High School in Pierce County, Washington after he gave a speech including sexual innuendo while nominating a classmate for a student council position at a school assembly. Believing his speech to be inappropriate and vulgar, the school's administration suspended Fraser for three days and barred him from speaking at graduation. After unsuccessfully appealing his punishment through the school's grievance procedures, Fraser filed a lawsuit against the school board, claiming the suspension violated his right to free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The United States District Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals both sided with Fraser. On appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, a 7–2 majority held that his suspension did not violate the First Amendment. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Warren Burger found that schools have the right to suppress student speech that is considered lewd or indecent, even if not obscene, in the interest of preserving a safe educational environment.