School leaders must recognize and respect the freedom of expression rights of students within reasonable limits, but they may restrict student expression that creates material and substantial disruption to the educational process. The challenge for school leaders is to achieve the proper balance between the rights of students and the needs of their schools. This article addresses the First Amendment rights of students to free expression involving gay issues in public schools. Two cases are presented in which school leaders face lawsuits for banning certain forms of student expression. The article ends with a discussion of a number of conditions that may invite a lawsuit if school leaders fail to take certain precautions involving a ban on student expression.