Tennessee Public School Sued After Suspending A Student Over Instagram Memes
Schools don't get to censor nondisruptive off-campus speech.
Last year, a Tennessee high school suspended a junior for three days as punishment for a series of playful Instagram posts lampooning the principal. According to a new lawsuit, that suspension was unconstitutional.
Referred to in the lawsuit as I.P., the student, who attends Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, made several Instagram posts while off campus. The posts were humorous depictions of Jason Quick, the school's principal. The photos, according to the student, were intended to lampoon Quick's reputation as a strict and humorless administrator. For example, In one post, a photo of Quick holding a box of produce has the text "my brotha" added to it. In another, Quick's face is placed over a picture of an anime cat.
The posts didn't disrupt school, but Quick ordered the student to receive a five-day suspension. The punishment was later downgraded to a three-day suspension when I.P. suffered a severe panic attack after being informed of the five-day suspension. School officials justified the suspension by claiming that the student had violated school policies barring students from posting pictures that "result[] in the embarrassment, demeaning, or discrediting of any student or staff" and are "unbecoming of a Wildcat."
According to the lawsuit, the school maintained I.P.'s punishment even when given a legal letter informing them that they were violating his First Amendment Rights under Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. The 2021 Supreme Court decision held that public schools cannot punish students for non-disruptive off-campus expression.
On Wednesday, I.P. filed a lawsuit with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment nonprofit. The suit challenges the school's social media policies as unconstitutionally vague and argues that school administrators had no legal right to suspend him for his off-campus Instagram posts.
"I.P.'s posts are protected First Amendment expression because they satirized a government official and did not create material disruption, cause substantial disorder, or invade the rights of others at school. The posts likewise did not cause Defendants to reasonably forecast such a disruption," reads the 48-page complaint. "There is no legitimate, let alone compelling, state interest in prohibiting students from engaging in non-disruptive speech about school staff or other students outside school hours and away from school property.
While stuffy administrators might not like it, public schools don't get to act as around-the-clock censors of students' speech. Once students are off school grounds, their public schools have no right to punish them for expression that doesn't cause a substantial disruption at school—even if they find that expression offensive or embarrassing.
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End all taxpayer funding of public schools. Today.
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If nothing else, the suspension certainly puts to rest any allegation that the principal is a strict and humorless dickhead.
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This is also an example of the Streisand Effect. Many more people will know what a thin-skinned person he is than if he had simply not reacted to being mocked.
And now we all get to see the pictures. No idea what they mean, but I’ve seen them.
Those memes were pretty mild. The asshole should grow a sense of humor. I never had to deal with that, as my HS principal was actually a very pleasant man. Unfortunately the VP of discipline was a Native American activist and an early adopter of PC. He ran around to all the home room gatherings in the morning to tell us to call colored people people of color. He probably blew a huge load after he saw Jesse Jackson rolling that one out.
The kid better enjoy his protection while it lasts. The moment he emerges into the real world and posts videos whining about his boss, his company will fire him on the spot and he’ll have no recourse whatsoever.
The kid can simply post anonymously.
I was going to write “but he won’t get his jollies if he posts anonymously”, but then I thought of all the right-wing crazies who get their sexual gratification by posting here (because we all know they ain’t gettin’ any IRL).
So, you’re a right wing crazy not getting any?
I hate when my kayak gets stuck on the beaverhausen.
I’m sure you’re getting some. Probably getting raw dogged in your asshole regularly by rough tricks. Now fuck off, and go back to being a sloppy bottom.
The kid isn’t employed by the school. This is more akin to him poking fun at the governor or president and getting arrested for his effort.
The moment he emerges into the real world and posts videos about a petty government functionary (such as a high school principal), he’ll enjoy the legal protections he should be getting now.
Unless he joins the wrong political party.
We need to ensure that the other one that thinks they can do this shit ceases to exist. And soon.
Mr. Prick is not his boss, he is a petty apparatchik. If this kid lampoons other uppity apparatchiki when he graduates, he may very well find success with a media organization like the Babylon Bee.
-jcr
>>but Quick ordered the student to receive a five-day suspension.
Rooney proves the kid’s point.
“unbecoming of a Wildcat.”
The ambiguity of that statement should be enough for a win.
ala mad.: obligatory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XItRcMuraCI
Well…
“Schools don’t get to censor non-disruptive off campus speech.”
Yeah, that’s the job of private companies directed by the government.
*applause*
Fucker’s lucky 4chan didn’t catch wind of this. Those are incredibly mild compared to what he could have gotten.
Goatse, with Quick’s head in the bullseye, for a start. And rapidly downhill from there.
Yeah, they would have fucked him up.
Dude clearly has no idea how horrifying the internet gets. Honestly it’s kinda funny.
Didn’t catch wind of it YET.
Memelord in Training
The student should now sue Mr. Prick personally and file a criminal complaint against Mr. Prick for violating his civil rights. As long as these petty potentates get to skate without any personal consequences for this shit, they will keep on trying it.
-jcr
I am sure if someone were to stretch the law beyond all recognition, they can argue that the principal defrauded the United States.
Why are school administrators reading Instagram posts at work? Shouldn’t they be administrating?