3. Decision of the Court

The Island Trees School Board removed nine books from their school libraries and several students responded by challenging the Board's actions in court. In the Federal District Court, the Board won the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed in the second circuit. The Supreme Court granted certiorari after a petition by the Board. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the school boards violated the First Amendment and cannot remove books from junior and high school libraries that they disagree with or deem offensive. The Supreme Court had to decide whether or not the School Board's interest to regulate the content of their curriculum overpowered the constitutional right of the 1st Amendment. "Although school boards have a vested interest in promoting respect for social, moral, and political community values, their discretionary power is secondary to the transcendent imperatives of the First Amendment." (http://www.oyez.org/cases/1980-1989/1981/1981_80_2043) Here is a quote from Justice O'Connor of the Supreme Court concerning the School Board's powers. "If the school board can set the curriculum, select teachers, and determine initially what books to purchase for the school library, it surely can decide which books to discontinue or remove from the school library so long as it does not also interfere with the right of students to read the material and to discuss it." (http://www.faculty.piercelaw.edu/redfield/library/case-islandtrees.htm) The decision of this case is very important because the time spent during childhood education can be some of the most influential years of learning a human being will ever experience and I believe you should have access to all educational resources possible. Here is yet another quote from the Supreme Court supporting the First Amendment in the case. "Any word spoken, in class, in the lunchroom, or on the campus, that deviates from the views of another person may start an argument or cause a disturbance. But our Constitution says we must take this risk and our history says that it is this sort of hazardous freedom - this kind of openness - that is the basis of our national strength and of the independence and vigor of Americans who grow up and live in this . . . often disputatious society." (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=volpage&court=us&vol=393&page=508#508) Justice Brennan added, taking precedence from West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion . . . . If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=457&invol=853)