A girl doesn’t get onto the varsity cheerleading team and is unhappy. She makes a post on Snapchat, while off school grounds, to complain by flipping the school the bird and use some colorful language. The school suspended her and the parents took the school to court alleging the school violated the girl’s first amendment right to free speech. The case makes it up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit and she wins. But wait… there’s more!
The Biden Justice Department is now asking the Supreme Court to undo B.L.’s sweeping First Amendment victory at the 3rd Circuit. “The court of appeals incorrectly held that off-campus student speech is categorically immune from discipline by public-school officials,” the government argued in a friend of the court brief filed in support of the Mahanoy Area School District.
According to the Biden Justice Department, while some off-campus speech deserves constitutional protection, the 3rd Circuit went too far, unfairly hamstringing school officials, who, the government maintained, require significant leeway when it comes to regulating and punishing student speech. “When the student’s off-campus speech targets an extracurricular athletic program in which the student participates,” the brief argued, “such speech might properly be regarded as school speech that is potentially subject to discipline by school officials if, for instance, it intentionally targets a feature that is essential to or inherent in the athletic program itself.”
Reason
What is the school afraid of? What is the Biden administration afraid of? What possible harm to the school, the school district, or the Democrat Party does a kid spouting off because she’s unhappy for not making the team?
The heavy hand of government crushes all. Let’s hope the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s decision. Otherwise there will be no limit to the speech a school district can control.
Image by 3282700 from Pixabay