Supreme Court Considers Student's Speech Rights Outside of School
2021-04-27
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1The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a closely watched case involving a teenager's freedom of speech on social media.
2In 2017, when Brandi Levy was 14, she wanted to be a cheerleader at her school in Pennsylvania.
3She competed for a place on the team.
4But, she was not chosen for the best team.
5Instead, she was told she would be on the second-best team.
6She was upset, and while she was at a store close to her school, she took a picture of herself making a sign with her finger that is offensive in the United States.
7She then posted the photo on the social media service Snapchat, and also added text with a bad word.
8Levy was mad that she was not chosen for the top team and expressed her anger with the post.
9While the post could only be seen for one day, adults who ran the school saw it.
10So did a number of students.
11The school punished Levy by banning her from the team for one year.
12It said Levy's Snapchat message upset other students and disrupted classes.
13The adults who ran the cheerleading team said Levy broke team rules and hurt the cohesion of the team.
14Levy and her parents wanted her to be put back on the cheerleading team.
15They took their case against the school to court.
16They got legal support from The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a civil rights group.
17A lower court judge ordered the school to let her back onto the team.
18The school appealed that decision to The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.
19But the U.S. appeals court said the school could not punish Levy because she was off campus.
20The school, however, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
21The school said it was permitted to punish Levy because of an almost 50-year-old decision.
22In 1969, the Supreme Court said students could be punished for disruptive speech.
23After the case is presented in Washington, D.C., the court should make its ruling by June.
24Levy is now 18 and in college.
25Thinking back on how she felt four years ago, she said the punishment felt wrong.
26She said she thought her action was "small," and she was only expressing her feelings.
27She said recently that she did not bully or harass anyone in her message.
28The court ruling will set an important example for speech.
29Schools say if the court rules for Levy, it will make their job more difficult.
30School leaders say it is already hard to keep students from making disruptive statements on social media.
31These incidents, they argue, most often happen outside of school hours and while students are at home, but they affect the student body.
32In a paper the school submitted for the case, it asked where school property ends in the world of internet messaging.
33If a student sends harassing emails to school accounts from home "where did the speech happen?"
34A representative from a national group of school leaders warned against giving students the freedom to send disruptive messages even if they are away from school.
35President Joe Biden's administration has expressed support for the school's side of the case.
36The ACLU and other organizations, however, say that if the school wins the case, it will make it harder for students to express themselves.
37The ACLU said that if Levy loses the case, it will make it easier for schools to follow and watch their students all the time.
38Sara Rose is a lawyer with the ACLU and is working on the case.
39She said schools can do things to protect students that do not involve "punishing kids for speech that they engage in off campus."
40I'm Dan Friedell.
1The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a closely watched case involving a teenager's freedom of speech on social media. 2In 2017, when Brandi Levy was 14, she wanted to be a cheerleader at her school in Pennsylvania. She competed for a place on the team. But, she was not chosen for the best team. Instead, she was told she would be on the second-best team. 3She was upset, and while she was at a store close to her school, she took a picture of herself making a sign with her finger that is offensive in the United States. She then posted the photo on the social media service Snapchat, and also added text with a bad word. 4Levy was mad that she was not chosen for the top team and expressed her anger with the post. While the post could only be seen for one day, adults who ran the school saw it. So did a number of students. 5The school punished Levy by banning her from the team for one year. It said Levy's Snapchat message upset other students and disrupted classes. The adults who ran the cheerleading team said Levy broke team rules and hurt the cohesion of the team. 6Levy and her parents wanted her to be put back on the cheerleading team. They took their case against the school to court. They got legal support from The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a civil rights group. A lower court judge ordered the school to let her back onto the team. 7The school appealed that decision to The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. But the U.S. appeals court said the school could not punish Levy because she was off campus. 8The school, however, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The school said it was permitted to punish Levy because of an almost 50-year-old decision. In 1969, the Supreme Court said students could be punished for disruptive speech. 9After the case is presented in Washington, D.C., the court should make its ruling by June. 10Levy is now 18 and in college. Thinking back on how she felt four years ago, she said the punishment felt wrong. She said she thought her action was "small," and she was only expressing her feelings. She said recently that she did not bully or harass anyone in her message. 11The court ruling will set an important example for speech. 12Schools say if the court rules for Levy, it will make their job more difficult. School leaders say it is already hard to keep students from making disruptive statements on social media. These incidents, they argue, most often happen outside of school hours and while students are at home, but they affect the student body. 13In a paper the school submitted for the case, it asked where school property ends in the world of internet messaging. If a student sends harassing emails to school accounts from home "where did the speech happen?" 14A representative from a national group of school leaders warned against giving students the freedom to send disruptive messages even if they are away from school. 15President Joe Biden's administration has expressed support for the school's side of the case. 16The ACLU and other organizations, however, say that if the school wins the case, it will make it harder for students to express themselves. The ACLU said that if Levy loses the case, it will make it easier for schools to follow and watch their students all the time. 17Sara Rose is a lawyer with the ACLU and is working on the case. She said schools can do things to protect students that do not involve "punishing kids for speech that they engage in off campus." 18I'm Dan Friedell. 19Andrew Chung wrote this story for Reuters. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 20Would you restrict student speech made off-campus? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 21_____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23disrupt -v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way : to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something) 24cohesion -n. a condition in which people or things are closely united 25campus -n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc. 26bully -v. to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person) : to act like a bully toward (someone) 27harass -v. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way 28engage in -v. to do something