According to the court what role did the age of the students play in the decision to uphold the punishment? The court ruled that the younger students should be given more freedom to express themselves compared to older students, given the innocence of their intentions. The court decided that young children, like first graders, would not be able to express themselves properly in a diverse society without school supervision. The court believed that the message in B.B.'s drawing could escalate and disrupt other students' educational experience due to the emotional sensitivity of young children. The court argued that first graders are too young to fully understand the implications of race and were more likely to misinterpret the message.