SCOTUS case: can schools punish students for off campus speech?
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Cheerleader posted expletives on SnapChat (no violent threat), public school handed down punishments, student’s family sued. So far the lower courts have sided with the student. SCOTUS decided to hear the case. The Biden administration sides with the school, eight states side with the student. The ACLU is representing the student.
My take: public schools should not regulate student’s off campus speech. Private schools may do so if the student agrees to being this regulated as a matter of contract between two private parties.
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It's an interesting case. Many people have lost their jobs because of what they said on social media. The justification for this is that their speech goes against the standards of their employer, even though they were not speaking in an official role, or representing the employer.
Why do you draw the distinction between public and private schools?
Followup, you said, "if the student agrees." Do you assume that a 14 year old high school student is capable of understanding such an agreement? He's not allowed to vote, drink, drive, enroll in the military. Why assume his/her/zer/xer understanding is valid in this situation?
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Public schools are agents of the state. I don’t want the state to regulate speech when the speech is made outside of state grounds. Private schools are private corporations, I don’t see the need to limit their rights to enter into contracts regarding regulating speech by their patrons.
Where minors are involved, you can read “student” as being represented by their legal guardians in matters of contracts.
