A lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania teenager who was barred from her school’s cheerleading team after swearing in a social media post will be heard this week by the US Supreme Court, in a legal case that could have major implications for free speech.
When secondary school student Brandi Levy, who was then 14, tried out in 2017 for her school’s senior varsity squad and got rejected she posted an angry message on Snapchat showing her and a friend holding up their middle fingers. The caption read “f— school f— softball f— cheer f— everything.”
The school responded by banning her from the cheerleading squad for a year. With the help of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Miss Levy sued Pennsylvania’s Mahanoy School District.
Miss Levy’s post and the punishment that followed are now at the centre of a major Supreme Court case that tests the boundaries of school discipline and the rights of students to free speech in the era of social media.
The nine judges are on Wednesday due to hear arguments on whether this disciplinary act by a public school – a government institution – violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech.
Her lawyers will argue that while administrators can set limits on speech and conduct on their property they cannot enforce their rules off campus.
They say teachers and school administrators have the authority to maintain an orderly learning environment for schools to function, however, Miss Levy’s comments were not made on school property or during school hours and were published on a private account.
School administrators counter that they should have the right to intervene in any student speech that disrupts the school environment, pointing to the fact that her posts were seen by hundreds of students.
Miss Levy, now 18, maintains her post did not violate a school cheerleading code that required “respect” and “no negative information” to be expressed while part of the team.
“I think that it didn’t because I was not directing towards any coaches. I didn’t have the school’s name in it. I didn’t have the coaches’ name or any teammates’ names in it,” she told ABC News. “I shouldn’t have to be afraid to express myself and I should be able to do it how I want to without being punished by anybody.”
So far, Miss Levy, now 18, has had all the victories in the longstanding case, winning in two lower federal courts and in an appeals court decision.
“This is the first time that the US Supreme Court is going to decide whether the rules that apply to kids when they’re in school also apply to their speech when they are outside of school,” said Sara Rose, an ACLU attorney defending Miss Levy in the case.
The Mahanoy School District has said in court documents that the appellate decision threatens to “handcuff” coaches, headmasters and teachers nationwide.
The public school is a GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION! That means the 1st amendment (and every other amendment) applies to students. (who are forced into the system)