A Cheerleader's Vulgar Message Prompts a First Amendment Showdown

[meadowlander]

45. I don't have a view one way or the other. I'm just trying to identify the relevant issue.

I'm pointing out that "no law bans profane speech" is incorrect. There is precedent in Supreme Court decisions (which I cited above) for not allowing students to use obscene language where is it disruptive to the mission of education. Many schools have dress codes, for example, that ban clothing that includes disruptive language.

Profane speech is banned in schools when it interferes with the educational purpose of the school.

What someone posts on social media is a grey area. It's difficult to determine where the student was when they were posting it and where the recipients are when they are reading it. If she posted it in the school cafeteria on her lunch break and all the other students were reading it there, is that substantially different to her passing around a note saying the same thing?

The fact that the student was commenting on a school-based activity is probably also relevant. Arguably she was "participating" in the school business/community, including extracurricular activities, even if she wasn't physically at school or it wasn't during the school day. That's different to having a rant about her parents or job online and then the school getting involved.

If she was working on a school assignment on the weekend at her house and punched another student for not doing their share, would you think the school still has a right to discipline her even though the incident happened on the weekend at her house?

What about cyber-bullying or revenge porn? Do you think the school has an interest if one group of its students are harassing another student online even if the bullying is happening outside of school hours? I would argue in those situations that the school has a duty of care for its students even outside of school hours and off grounds.