Damon Root reports:
In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court forbade public school officials from punishing students for exercising their First Amendment rights on school grounds unless the speech at issue “would materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline and in the operation of the school.” In the coming months, the Court will hear arguments in a new case that asks whether that rule should be interpreted to allow school officials to punish students for certain off-campus social media posts.
Read more on Reason.
This is not just a speech issue, though. It’s also a privacy issue. Does a student have a right to have a life outside of school or not? If the school can discipline for off-campus speech, what about for other off-campus behaviors? Yes, things done or said off-campus can impact or spillover onto school grounds, but attempting to discipline students for off-campus behaviors also infringes on parental obligations — and rights.
h/t, Joe Cadillic