A Cheerleader's Vulgar Message Prompts a First Amendment Showdown

[NutmegYankee]

59. You mix up prohibitions on behavior from prohibitions on speech.

Criminal harassment is a behavior, and is punishable both in school and in courts. Assault and battery are likewise crimes in both places. Normally bullying and harassment continue on school grounds, giving the school power to intervene. Rarely do kids stop their bad behavior in school and then resume it off school grounds. I know from my experience that isn't the case. My mother would photograph the bruises I sustained in school. Even verbal taunts or rumors on school grounds give the school power to intervene - it is harming the educational setting by making the victim feel unsafe.

The case we discuss here is not a bullying or harassment case. It was an immature lash-out. The school should have counciled her that this was not acceptable behavior, but once they actually handed down a punishment tailored specifically to her speech outside of school, they violated the law. I hold very strong civil libertarian views (been a card carrying member of the ACLU my entire adult life) and will never sign up for government to regulate speech. As I mentioned earlier, religious right wackjobs on a school board could turn that right back on us. And they would do so in a heartbeat.