Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communication at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, is quoted in “How Some Students Are Protesting Law Dubbed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ as Graduation Nears” published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel on May 14.

The article focuses on students speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, referred to by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, and speaking in favor of LGBTQ+ rights. Some high schools have formed committees to make sure that graduation speeches are not too political or controversial.

According to Calvert, schools would be well within their jurisdiction to do so because graduation ceremonies are school-sponsored events, allowing controversial or political speech would come across as if the school condoned that viewpoint.

“I think schools have to weigh this and be sensitive to the sense of political speech involved,” Calvert said. “They’ll need to try to strike a balance regardless of what the law is here. A graduation speech would be considered school-supervised speech, though it’s not technically part of the curriculum.”

He adds, “The speech could still be characterized as part of the school curriculum, whether it occurs in a classroom, as long as it’s supervised by faculty members.”

Posted: May 16, 2022
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Clay Calvert, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project