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There is validity in the idea that off campus speech on social media can interfere with on campus activities, but I think the slope is far to slippery to allow

There is validity in the idea that off campus speech on social media can interfere with on campus activities, but I think the slope is far to slippery to allow the government (yes public schools are the government) to extend to all students and all times because social media posts can disrupt the learning environments. Kids already check their constitutional rights at the door of the school, and they can regulate their own platforms, but there is no way the courts can allow schools unmitigated power to rear children on behalf of the government 24/7 in all mediums of expression. The bullying argument by the school is rich, because that is exactly what these adults are doing, they are bullying a kid into keeping quiet about the schools behavior. Sure kids can be bullied on social media off campus but the school doesn’t need to regulate that, the law provides remedies, and if the bullying extends from an off campus social media post to an on campus violation then the school can step in at that time and punish that behavior.

fossuser 5y ago
It's one thing for a school to exercise editorial control over a student paper (previous SCOTUS case), but it's quite another for them to try to control student speech outside of school. A lot of public schools in the US are miserable places with dumb and often hostile adults. I agree that they are the ones bullying the student here - I hope the school loses.
- throwaway_kufu 5y ago
  They can definitely regulate the use of the word fuck in the school or in class, I am fine with that, but I know others that would disagree. You could definitely change the facts just slightly, where a student posts something on social media during school hours while on campus...then is it fair game for the school to regulate/punish? I have to admit myself I’d want to know the context, but it really shouldn’t matter, either yes they can regulate the speech or no they can’t. I think SCOTUS cherry picked this case, so they wouldn’t have to take a case with more compelling facts like a social media post while at school by a student bullying another student. Then again the justices are older, and disconnected from a generation that grew up connected to social media.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    I'm glad they're cherry-picking. They're more likely to get it right, and it's best if they move slowly. Ten years from now they can take a case from a student who will have been sent to detention for cursing her teacher's parentage during class.

fossuser 5y ago

It's one thing for a school to exercise editorial control over a student paper (previous SCOTUS case), but it's quite another for them to try to control student speech outside of school. A lot of public schools in the US are miserable places with dumb and often hostile adults. I agree that they are the ones bullying the student here - I hope the school loses.

throwaway_kufu 5y ago
They can definitely regulate the use of the word fuck in the school or in class, I am fine with that, but I know others that would disagree. You could definitely change the facts just slightly, where a student posts something on social media during school hours while on campus...then is it fair game for the school to regulate/punish? I have to admit myself I’d want to know the context, but it really shouldn’t matter, either yes they can regulate the speech or no they can’t. I think SCOTUS cherry picked this case, so they wouldn’t have to take a case with more compelling facts like a social media post while at school by a student bullying another student. Then again the justices are older, and disconnected from a generation that grew up connected to social media.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  I'm glad they're cherry-picking. They're more likely to get it right, and it's best if they move slowly. Ten years from now they can take a case from a student who will have been sent to detention for cursing her teacher's parentage during class.