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Padlet Slide #1 An Instructor's Perspective of Military Students' Right to Expression

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Padlet Slide #1 An Instructor's Perspective of Military Students' Right to Expression

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As a federal civilian instructor at a military training base, the Air Education & Training Command seeks to modernize education into a trainee-centered approach to the classroom (Prince 2023). This involves more collaborative and team-based approaches in the educational environment, which demands more expression from students.

The concept of student expression as a whole interests me, both as a current event in 2025 and how civilian and military laws compare.

Prince, T. (2023, December 29). Forging a Foundation: Basic Military Training [Review of Forging a Foundation: Basic Military Training]. Airmen Magazine; U.S. Air Force. https://www.aetc.af.mil/News/AETC-Features/Article/3632515/forging-a-foundation-basic-military-training/

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Padlet Slide #2 Governing Agency: The Department of Defense and The Department of the U.S Air Force

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Padlet Slide #2 Governing Agency: The Department of Defense and The Department of the U.S Air Force

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As all service members as part of the U.S. Department of Defense, this ultimately serves as the executive, federal-level authority which governs the rights of all U.S. military service members.

While there is not a state governing body, the subordinate Department of the Air Force serves as a proxy to a state governing authority, which creates its own specific rules but is beholden to the greater federal executive authority.

In comparison, in the civilian sector, the federal governing body for education is the cabinet level Department of Education, which is ultimately responsible for providing guidance to state-level

Must include a summary of the governing agency, at the federal and state level, in your field of practice with practical expertise related to the Guide topic. The summary should include what you learned about governing bodies and accountability at the federal and state level.

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Padlet Slide #3 Identify the federal and state constitutional laws that align with your topic.

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Padlet Slide #3 Identify the federal and state constitutional laws that align with your topic.

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The expression of all U.S. citizens (and non-citizens within it's borders are protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

U.S. Const. Amend. I

This protection of expression is mirrored by the Texas State Constitution, which protects "“liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject.”

Tex. Const. art. I, § 8

It must be noted, however, that protection of speech is not absolute, especially when speech harms the rights of others.

In terms of educational institutions, speech is not protected if it disrupts the normal operation of the school. This will be addressed in slide

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Padlet Slide #4 Identify the one statue and one administrative law that align with your topic.

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Padlet Slide #4 Identify the one statue and one administrative law that align with your topic.

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Military Students are beholden to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a specialized legal code that is designed specifically for the military. The UCMJ allows for the suspension of Constitutional rights for service members in order to preserve the environment required by military operations, e.g. following orders, legal separation of officers and enlisted personnel.

The UCMJ is divided into articles, which function similarly to state statutes. Even in a military training environment, military students are beholden to those articles.

The two UCMJ articles which address expression are articles 88 and 134.

Article 88 specifically applies only to commissioned officers and primarily restricts them from using "contemptuous" language to high-level elected officials (President, VP, Governers, etc) and is generally not applicable in the educational environment. (UCMJ §888. Art. 88. Contempt toward officials).

Article 134, called the general article, is broader and applies to any action that is "prejudicial to good order and discipline" or "brings discredit upon the armed forces". (UCMJ §934. Art. 134. General article). This allows even instructors to disallow expression if it affects activities other than education, such as disrespecting service members of a higher rank, damages unit morale, or attempts to persuade other service members to be disloyal.

There is at least some similarity in Texas State law. The Texas Educational Code

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Padlet #5 Identify the common or case laws that align with your topic.

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Padlet #5 Identify the common or case laws that align with your topic.

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An important case that decided constraints against students in modern history started in Tinker v. Des Moines School District, which addressed whether students could wear black armbands in protest. (Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist., 393 U.S. 503 (1969)). This ruling established the precedent that “students do not leave their freedoms of speech and expression at the school door.”

Of course military service members are subject to additional rules of the UCMJ, but the Tinker ruling provides context to an educational environment. For students to learn effectively, they must be able to express themselves within a set of reasonable boundaries. If those boundaries are too constrained, they may impede effective education.

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Padlet #6 Identify the federal regulation or mandate that align with your topic.

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Padlet #6 Identify the federal regulation or mandate that align with your topic.

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There is no particular federal mandate or regulation that addresses student expression, but there are additional Supreme Court cases that further restrict student expression beyond that of Tinker v. Des Moines School District.

In the case of Bethel School District v. Fraser, 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that schools could specifically prohibit and limit.

When delivering the ruling, Chief Justice Burger distinguished between political speech which the Court previously had protected in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) and the supposed sexual content of a student's graphical sexual metaphor at an assembly. Burger concluded that the First Amendment did not prohibit schools from prohibiting vulgar and lewd speech since such discourse was inconsistent with the "fundamental values of public school education."

(Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser is 478 U.S. 675 (1986))

This is mirrored in the UCMJ's article 134 requiring service members to avoid making public statements (such as vulgar or lewd remarks) that could bring discredit to the military services.

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 Padlet #7 Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule.

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 Padlet #7 Local Administrative Law/Policy/Rule.

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An interesting difference in civilian versus military student expression is in the manner of acceptable dress. Educational institutions have struggled with the topic of student dress, with no clear precedent being set.

Military students, on the other hand, are bound my military rules. The local Goodfellow Air Force Base 17th Training Wing Student Handbook establishes the following in terms of personal appearance:

"As per AFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel, Paragraph 1.1.2., “Pride in one’s personal appearance and wearing the uniform, greatly enhances the esprit de corps essential to an effective military force. Therefore, it is critical for all Airmen to maintain a high standard of dress and personal appearance. The five elements of this standard are neatness, cleanliness, safety, uniformity, and military image.” In addition, AFI 36-2903 states what you can and cannot do to your body as a member of the USAF; active duty, USAFR members on active duty or inactive duty for training and ANG members in Federal service. This includes tattooing, branding, or other body markings. Failure to observe these mandatory provisions and prohibitions is a violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). All Airmen are authorized to wear squadron approved morale shirts on Fridays when Uniform of the Day (UOD) is Airmen Battle Uniforms (ABUs). Airmen in BTP that travel in small marching units (SMUs) are not required to have matching undershirts."

(17th Training Wing Student Handbook)

Unlike traditional civilian students, military student appearance is carefully constrained. Members are required to wear certain clothing (uniforms) and must abide by particular rules for tattoos and the wear of earrings.

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Padlet #8 Discuss, in bullet point format, three risk management strategies related to the topic and why it is important.

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Padlet #8 Discuss, in bullet point format, three risk management strategies related to the topic and why it is important.

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The first and foremost risk management strategy for student expression is to communicate guidelines clearly and effectively. The military directive expecting "good order and discipline" is broad in scope; provide specific examples to students so they can create a baseline of expected behavior.

These guidelines can be set in a welcome packet as well as in the introductory unit of a course. Having the student participate in establishing guidelines can create buy-in, increasing their effectiveness.

A second management strategy is to incorporate critical thinking techniques combined with media literacy into courseware. Being able to critically analyze the impact of communication can assist students comprehend the rationale behind tempering their own expression.

A third technique for risk management is to have a clearly established set of internal guidance for responding to conflicts within the educational environment. In a military setting with a large percentage of servicemembers with under one year of service, having established expectations for "teaching moments" instead of administrative punishment is valuable for helping new servicemembers align with military patterns of behavior.

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The military educational profession does not have a specific code of ethics, but the National Education Association's Code of Ethics provides guidelines for all educators.

The first items of the first principle of "Commitment to the Student", the code directs that educators "shall not unreasonably restrain the student from independent action in the pursuit of learning."

My interpretation is that an element of independent action in the pursuit of learning is expression. In the military classroom, this generally means spoken opinions or writing.

Providing students space (within boundaries) for expression is an ethical imperative.

https://www.nea.org/resource-library/code-ethics-educators

Within the state of Texas' Administrative code, the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators contains the requirement that "The educator shall not intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly treat a student or minor in a manner that adversely affects or endangers the learning, physical health, mental health, or safety of the student or minor."

(19 TAC §247.2)

Ethically, this means understanding the boundaries and limitations of student expression and treated conflicts with respect and truthfulness.

https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/rules-and-meetings?$locale=en_US&interface=VIEW_TAC_SUMMARY&queryAsDate=05%2F15%2F2025&recordId=192646

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Padlet Slide #10 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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Padlet Slide #10 Personal Connection to the Legal and Ethical Standards

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As a retired military federal civilian instructor, my career was intertwined with legal and ethical standards, but the scope of my perception was limited to local and service regulations and the orders I was given to carry out.

This course widened the scope of my understanding of the sources of law, providing a practical understanding of how local regulations come from statues, which themselves are rooted in the U.S. Constitution.

I had not previously connected how the rule of law directly contributed to fairness, accountability, and positive learning outcomes in an educational environment.

In terms of how the law connects to my own educational journey, I was surprised to see that a legal and ethics course was part of this educational program. My primary focus is on the "nuts and bolts" or instructional design and curriculum development. Connecting the law to the regulations that govern educational institutions has reinforced my belief that educational environments must be grounded in ethical guidelines that foster respect for all learners. This course has motivated me to seek a deeper understanding of what regulations truly support ethical considerations.

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Padlet Slide #11 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Padlet Slide #11 Bulleted list of Recommendations / Best Practices for Compliance

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Educators, whether military or civilian, have a duty to foster an environment where students feel safe and encouraged to express their thoughts and ideas freely, within reasonable boundaries.

Curriculum design should incorporate opportunities for a variety of forms of student expression (verbal, written, , digital mediums, etc).

Including students in developing guidelines regarding acceptable and unacceptable forms of student expression is essential for maintaining a respectful learning environment.

Teachers' behavior should model and explicitly teach students how to express themselves respectfully, even when discussing controversial or differing viewpoints.

Educational practices must balance the protection of students' First Amendment rights with the school's responsibility to ensure a safe and non-disruptive learning environment for all. This requires special consideration for military classrooms.

Opportunities for students to discuss and provide feedback on their fellow students should be integrated into learning activities.

institutions should implement clear and consistent processes for addressing instances of student expression that violate established guidelines or create conflicts within classrooms.

Professional development for educators should include training on understanding student expression, managing difficult conversations, and upholding students' rights while ensuring a positive school climate.