Symbolic speech refers to nonverbal and nonwritten forms of communication, such as picketing, wearing an armband, hoisting (or burning) a flag, and making a gesture such as a salute — ...

This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces.

In a letter to parents, Baraboo School District Administrator Lori Mueller concluded that the students making the apparent Nazi salute cannot be punished by the school because their symbolic speech is ...