This from the School Law blog:
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case involving school punishment of a student for Internet speech critical of school administrators. However, two other appeals raising similar student free-speech issues are pending before the justices.
The high court on Monday turned away the appeal of Avery Doninger, who, as a Connecticut high school junior in 2007, had criticized school officials in her Web journal. After a dispute with officials at her high school in Burlington, Conn., over the scheduling of a band contest, Doninger referred to administrators as "douchebags" and encouraged her readers to email the superintendent "to piss her off more."
School officials, citing disruption by the emails and Doninger's Web comments, barred her from running for senior class secretary, but she wasn't suspended. Doninger and some of her fellow students were also later barred from wearing T-shirts at a school assemby that said "Support LSM Freedom of Speech," referring to Lewis S. Mills High School.
Doninger and her mother sought an injunction barring her discipline, but a district court and a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in New York City, which included then-Circuit Judge Sonia Sotomayor, ruled against her.
The student continued to press her claims for damages under the First Amendment's free-speech clause. She lost in 2009 in federal district court, which granted qualified immunity to the school officials who disciplined her.
In an April decision, another 2nd Circuit court panel agreed that administrators were immune from the suit...
2 comments:
Okay, although it is very unprofessional and irresponsible to just post things on the internet criticizing school officials, it is also still technically freedom of speech. You can say whatever you want as long as you're willing to accept the consequences. Saying vulgar things about someone could fall under the category of slander and has the potential to wind up biting you in the butt. Moral of the story: watch what you say.
So are we then saying it would be ok for a teacher to be fired or demonted because he or she posted an editorial which was critical of the district for which they worked?
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