Tennessee School Removes Student Suspension Over Memes Following First Amendment Lawsuit
A public high school in Tennessee agreed to remove a suspension from a student’s record following a lawsuit that claimed the school’s social media policies violated the student’s First Amendment rights and led to an unconstitutional disciplinary action.
Tennessee Student Sues After Suspension for Off-Campus Memes
A Tennessee public high school student sued his school July 18 after he was suspended for posting memes ridiculing his principal, claiming the disciplinary action violated his First Amendment rights.
Nebraska High School Newspaper Shut Down for Publishing LGBTQ+ Content, a Federal Lawsuit Claims
A lawsuit filed in federal court March 31 by a former Nebraska public high school newspaper reporter and a high school press association claims the shutdown of a student newspaper violated the First Amendment.
Student Can Wear ‘Jesus Loves Me’ Face Mask; Mississippi School District Settles Lawsuit
A Mississippi public school district agreed to retract a policy in a settlement Jan. 25 after it violated a third grader’s First Amendment right to wear a face mask to school with “Jesus Loves Me” written on it.
The Supreme Court's ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. was a big victory for cheerleader Brandi Levy. Still, George Washington Law Professor and student speech expert Catherine J. Ross warns that the decision left unanswered many questions regarding school's authority to regulate off-campus speech.
Supreme Court Rules that Student’s Off-Campus Speech Is Protected By the First Amendment
In an 8-1 decision on June 23rd, the Supreme Court ruled that a student’s off-campus speech was protected by the First Amendment. The case, Mahanoy Area School District v B.L., involves a message posted on Snapchat by a then-14 year old student identified as “B.L.”, after she learned she failed to advance from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading squad. The message, posted on a Saturday afternoon when she was off-campus, stated, in part, “f*** cheer, f***everything.”
Students of All Ages Should Not Lose First Amendment Rights at School
Two elementary school students in Ardmore, Oklahoma were pulled from their public school classrooms for wearing “Black Lives Matters” t-shirts,” reports The New York Times. Such action likely violates the First Amendment, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision protecting student-initiated expression in the public schools—Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969).
Wisconsin Public Schools Can Prohibit Students From Wearing Shirts with Guns, Judge Rules
A federal court ruled that two Wisconsin public schools that banned students from wearing clothing with depictions of firearms did not violate students' First Amendment rights. The decision to side with the school came as an unpleasant surprise to free speech scholars who thought the schools’ dress code policies were overly restrictive.