Alexandria, Va. (November 7, 2011) - Key education organizations are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to provide guidance on whether schools may regulate student online speech that originates away from school.
The National School Boards Association along with the American Association of School Administrators; American School Counselor Association; Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Association of Elementary School Principals; Pennsylvania School Boards Association; and the School Social Work Association of America have filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to review J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District. The brief notes that school leaders “have no clear, cohesive body of law to guide their regulation of student online speech originating off campus that disrupts or reasonably could be forecasted to disrupt, the school environment, or interferes with the rights of others.”
J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District involves J.S., a student who was attending a middle school in Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountain School District. J.S. created on her home computer a fake MySpace profile of her principal, which included his official photograph from the school district’s website. According to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, “The profile contained crude content and vulgar language, ranging from nonsense and juvenile humor to profanity and shameful personal attacks aimed at the principal and his family.” Another student at the school ultimately told the principal about the profile. The school district gave J.S. a 10 day out of school suspension. Earlier this year, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of the student, concluding that her speech did not cause an actual or likely substantial disruption in school.
“Social networking has fundamentally changed the nature of communication in our society and radically altered how students interact with their peers and the school community,” said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA’s Executive Director. “Schools need national precedent to inform their ability, if any, to regulate off-campus speech. Since 1969 when the Supreme Court decided Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, it has been unclear what authority school districts have to discipline students for off-campus speech.”
Francisco M. Negrón, Jr., NSBA's General Counsel continued, “Now is the time for the Supreme Court to resolve the question of whether and to what extent school districts have the authority to discipline students for off-campus speech. As technology blurs the lines between on-campus and off-campus speech, school districts need clear guidance to be able to effectively address extreme off-campus speech that interferes with a safe and orderly learning environment.”
Brief:
http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/AmicusBriefs/Blue-Mountain-Sch-Dist-v-JSHermitage-Sch-Dist-v-Layshock.pdf
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Founded in 1940, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S. Working with and through our state associations, NSBA advocates for equity and excellence in public education through school board leadership. www.nsba.org