The justices’ 8-1 decision found that the First Amendment imposes broad limits on public schools’ ability to regulate off-campus speech delivered

Supreme Court sides with teen in speech case over Snapchat outburst - POLITICO

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2021-06-23 16:00:08

The justices’ 8-1 decision found that the First Amendment imposes broad limits on public schools’ ability to regulate off-campus speech delivered via social media.

Brandi Levy wears her former cheerleading outfit while sitting outside Mahanoy Area High School in Mahanoy City, Pa., on April 4, 2021. | Danna Singer/ACLU via AP

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of a Pennsylvania high school student who was suspended from the cheerleading program over a profane Snapchat post lamenting being denied a spot on the varsity squad.

The justices’ 8-1 decision found that the First Amendment imposes broad limits on public schools’ ability to regulate off-campus speech delivered via social media, but the high court left the door open to educators regulating messages that are highly disruptive to school operations.

The case, the high court’s first big student free-speech case of the internet era, was framed as a test of school officials’ power to regulate student speech on the web. It started with a profane lament on Snapchat by a Pennsylvania ninth-grader, Brandi Levy, about being denied a spot on the varsity cheerleading squad.