A Tale of Two Cases: How the Courts Interpret Students' Rights When They Use the Internet Is Still Uncertain Territory
2010; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 92; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1940-6487
Autores Tópico(s)Law, Rights, and Freedoms
ResumoTwo separate cases involving student First Amendment rights and the Internet demonstrate the unsettled nature of the law. Case #1: In March 2007, J.S. was an 8th-grade honor roll student at Blue Mountain Middle School in Orwigsburg, Pa., when she and a created a fictitious MySpace profile of the school's principal. They were at their respective homes, and J.S. used her parents' computer and communicated with her by AOL Instant Messenger. The profile contained the principal's photograph, which they copied from the district's web site, and a profanity-laced description that insinuated that the principal was a sex addict and pedophile. Initially, the profile was marked public, which made it accessible by anyone who knew the URL or found it by searching MySpace for a term in the profile. At school the next day, several students approached J.S. about the profile. That night, J.S. made the profile private, meaning access required an invitation. She granted friend status to two students, who in turn granted access to about 22 students. They could access the site only from nonschool computers the district blocked access to MySpace.com. The next morning, a student told the principal about the profile. At the request of the principal, the student learned who created the profile and gave the principal a printout of the web page. Because the profile contained the URL, the principal was able to access the profile despite its private status. After consulting with the district's technology director and the superintendent, the principal concluded that the imposter profile violated the district's acceptable use policy. The principal met with the two girls and their parents and told them each girl would be suspended for 10 days. He also threatened legal action. While the principal met with the two students and their parents, a group of six to seven students disturbed a second-period Algebra class by chattering about the profile and its consequences. The teacher had to raise his voice after three softer requests to be quiet went unheeded. In addition, a guidance counselor had to proctor a test so that another administrator could participate in the principal's informal disciplinary hearings. Later that day, the principal contacted MySpace.com representatives, and they agreed to remove the profile. He also contacted the state police, who told him that he could either press charges, which would likely be dropped, or file a formal report. He filed the report and asked police to meet with each girl and her parents to reinforce the seriousness of the matter. When the two girls returned from their suspension, they found congratulatory decorations on their lockers. Teachers dispersed 20 to 30 students who congregated around the two lockers. The principal reprimanded the two students who had done the decorations. On March 28, after the superintendent upheld the suspension, J.S and her parents filed a civil rights suit in federal court. Each side moved for summary judgment. On Sept. 11, 2008, the federal district court issued a summary judgment in favor of the school district, because the lewd and vulgar off-campus speech had an effect on campus. The parents filed an appeal with the Third Circuit, relying primarily on J.S.'s First Amendment freedom of expression. Case #2: In December 2005, Justin L., a high school senior in Hermitage, Pa., created a parody profile of his principal on MySpace.com. He did so while at his grandmother's house during nonschool hours. He cut and pasted the principal's photograph from the district web site. For the template tell me about yourself questions, Justin based the answers on the principal being a large man. Here are a few examples: Are you a health freak: big steroid freak In the past month have you smoked: big blunt [i.e., marijuana cigarette] After finishing the profile, he made it available to other students by listing them as friends on the web site. …
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