The events surrounding Tinker v. Des Moines involved a school, so why did the First Amendment apply? The events involved symbolic speech without disruption. The First Amendment always applies to issues of speech. The events involved controversial issues. The protest was an act of civil disobedience.

The first amendment applies in this particular scenario, because the events surrounding Tinker v. Des Moines involved symbolic speech without disruption. Eventually it was ruled that the first amendment does apply to public schools, and that as a result the officials at the school had no right to censor the pupils who were sent home for asserting their right to freedom of speech or expression.