Tinker v. Des Moines Petitioners, three public school pupils in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Government's policy in Vietnam. John F. Tinker, 15 years old, and petitioner Christopher Eckhardt, 16 years old, attended high schools in Des Moines, Iowa. Petitioner Mary Beth Tinker, John's sister, was a 13-year-old student in junior high school. In December 1965, a group of adults and students in Des Moines held a meeting at …showed first 75 words of 457 total…

…showed last 75 words of 457 total…protection of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth. 2. First Amendment rights are available to teachers and students, subject to application in light of the special characteristics of the school environment. 3. A prohibition against expression of opinion, without any evidence that the rule is necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others, is not permissible under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.