First Amendment Implications of Restricting Food & Beverage Marketing

Food and beverage marketing in school environments has a strong influence on what students consume. 

School districts interested in restricting non-nutritious food and beverage marketing on campus may be inhibited not only by monetary and political pressures but also by legal questions related to the First Amendment.

This report demystifies how the First Amendment bears upon efforts to restrict food and beverage marketing in public schools. It includes an explanation of why the First Amendment might be implicated in a school district policy to restrict marketing and explores two actions a school district might take without involving the First Amendment