The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit yesterday “on behalf of a former Pembroke Pines Charter High School student Katherine Evans” according to the Associated Press. The reason? Katherine was suspended for criticizing her teacher on Facebook and now would like to have that suspension removed from her record. The ACLU is claiming that the principal of the high school “violated her First Amendment rights” and I would have to agree.
I once told a teacher that she was the worst teacher I ever had. While it didn’t result in a good grade in her class, it also didn’t result in a suspension. Katherine Evans also was “pulled from her advanced placement classes” and forced into “lesser-weighted honors classes” according to Akilah Johnson. My guess is that the case will be settled pretty quickly as the ACLU has a strong position.
There have been numerous reports about students getting in trouble for their activity on Facebook. Teachers (as well as employees outside of education) have also been fired or punished for their activity on Facebook. While Katherine Evans may have been unjustly punished for her activity on Facebook, many engage in inappropriate behavior on the site which results in job loss, the end of relationships, and other negative side effects.
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Nick,
When you post about a court case, it would be good to find the ACLU's complaint and link to it. Excerpts would be even better, so we can evaluate their arguments.
But I suspect ACLU is on solid ground. See Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District:
In order for the State in the person of school officials to justify prohibition of a particular expression of opinion, it must be able to show that its action was caused by something more than a mere desire to avoid the discomfort and unpleasantness that always accompany an unpopular viewpoint. Certainly where there is no finding and no showing that engaging in the forbidden conduct would "materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school," the prohibition cannot be sustained.
Comment by Andrew Feinberg — December 9, 2008 @ 9:59 am
I don't know about this. Reading the linked article, it could be seen as harassment.
I don't know why something on Facebook would necessarily be any different than if she posted flyers around the school saying the same things, e.g., Mrs. So-and-So is "the worst teacher I've ever met!" and asking others to "express your feelings of hatred".
Sounds to me like she's another one of those academically-gifted but socially-inept high school teens who think they have carte blanche.
Comment by DG — December 9, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
[...] argues in a complaint filed October 27. Actually, only part of the complaint directly concerns communications on Facebook. But still, the development is really cool for free speech and employee rights. The coolest part is [...]
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[...] expressing feelings about school on Facebook during off hours. When student Katherine Evans was suspended in 2008 for calling her teacher “the worst I ever met” on Facebook, the ACLU filed a [...]
Pingback by ACLU Backs Student’s Facebook Insult Of Teacher — February 2, 2011 @ 11:48 am