This book explores the issue of student speech in public schools from a student usability
perspective. Student speech is both a challenge and an opportunity in public schools. When
school boards and districts craft policy they do so with US Supreme Court precedents state
laws and community expectations in mind. The result is complex ideas presented in complex
speech. What do student handbooks say about free speech if anything at all? How are these
rights defined and how is the language interpreted? Salkin and Shenkel explore these questions
by analyzing a sample of public high school student handbooks from across the country. Drawing
from the results the project proposes real-world suggestions for schools seeking to create
student expression handbook language that is easily accessible to the audience it seeks to
serve.
