A 9^th grader didn’t make the Varsity Cheerleader squad.  She recorded a swear-word laced attack on the her school and coach, which included obscene gestures, and posted her rant on social media. The school banned her for a year from the JV Cheerleader team. She and her parents sued. The court said her first amendment rights were violated and the school appealed. The case is in the Supreme Court and the Court heard arguments today. This is an important issue. Can a students out of school conduct, cause the school to discipline the student or does the students free-speech rights permit the student to criticize, even with offensive language, the school, it’s employees and even other students?  We should know by June. The following is how the case has been reported in the news:

 

(Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court justices heard arguments on Wednesday on whether public schools can punish students for what they say off campus in a case involving a former Pennsylvania cheerleader’s foul-mouthed social media post that could impact the free speech rights of millions of young Americans.

The nine justices are considering an appeal by the Mahanoy Area School District of a lower court ruling in favor of Brandi Levy that found that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech bars public school officials from regulating off-campus speech. The arguments were ongoing.

 

Many schools and educators, supported by President Joe Biden’s administration, have argued that ending their authority over students at the schoolhouse gates could make it harder to curb bullying, racism, cheating and invasions of privacy - all frequently occurring online.

The American Civil Liberties Union, representing Levy, has argued that students need protection from censorship and monitoring of their beliefs.