Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District was a case decided by the US Supreme Court in 1969 that ruled that public schools cannot censor student expression. Justice Abe Fortas wrote the majority opinion and explained that neither the students nor the teachers lost their right to freedom of speech just because they are inside a school. He also said that the administration of the school trying to ban the armbands was a way of barring freedom of expression.