A federal appeals court supported a ruling made by a federal judge against the Mahanoy Area School District last year for violating the free speech rights of a student.
According to a media release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that public schools cannot censor students’ off-campus speech based on a fear of disruption of school activities. The ruling against the school district says that it violated the First Amendment free speech rights of a student when it removed her from the cheerleading team for using an expletive on the social media platform Snapchat to describe her frustration with the team while off campus. A federal judge reinstated her to the team in September 2017 shortly after she filed a lawsuit.
District Superintendent Dr. Joie L. Green was contacted and was aware of the appeals court ruling.
“I did receive an email with the decision. I’m not able to comment,” Green said, deferring any comment to the law firm representing the school district in the matter, which is Levin Legal Group P.C., Huntingdon Valley.
Representing the law firm before the appeals court was attorney Michael I. Levin, who argued the case according to the court documents.
“We are disappointed in the decision and we will be exploring the options with the school district,” Levin said.
On March 21, 2019, Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued his ruling that the civil rights of student “B.L.” were violated. The student, who was in 10th grade at the time, had posted a “Snap” to the popular social media platform Snapchat that, using expletives, expressed her frustration with school and with cheerleading. She was punished under cheerleading team rules that prohibit “disrespect” and prohibit posting any ‘negative information’ about cheerleading online.”
Student “B.L.” was graduated this year from Mahanoy Area.
According to the 51-page appeals court ruling, “She took a photo of herself and her friend with their middle fingers raised and posted it to her Snapchat story. The snap was visible to about 250 ‘friends,’ many of whom were MAHS students and some of whom were cheerleaders, and it was accompanied by a puerile caption”
The ACLU release said the appeals court unanimously agreed that the school violated the First Amendment, and two of the three sitting judges also ruled that public schools do not have the power to discipline students for off-campus speech even if the speech causes or is likely to cause a disruption on campus. Lawyers at the ACLU of Pennsylvania consider it the most expansive ruling on students’ off-campus speech rights in the country.
“Our client was out of school, on her own time, and not involved in a school activity when she made the Snapchat post, and the school went well beyond its power in disciplining her for her speech,” said Sara Rose, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, who argued the case before the appeals court. “We are grateful that the court understood that the same free speech principles apply whether a student is kicked off the cheerleading team or suspended from school for expression that occurs off campus.”
Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, added, “This is an important decision because it recognizes that students who are outside of school enjoy full free speech rights, not the diluted rights they have inside the schoolhouse. Schools have historically used the ‘disruption’ standard to punish students for criticizing what’s happening at school. This decision clarifies that young people enjoy full First Amendment protection when outside of school.”
The plaintiff was represented by Sara Rose and Mary Catherine Roper of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Molly Tack-Hooper, formerly of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and now of the ACLU of Washington, and Arleigh Helfer and Theresa E. Loscalzo of Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis. More information about the case, including a copy of the opinion, is available at aclupa.org/BL.
Contact the writer: jusalis@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023