Brandi Levy was a 14 year-old freshman who expressed disappointment at not being selected for the varsity cheerleading squad with a string curse words and a raised middle finger via Snapchat.
Levy, a Mahanoy City resident, Pennsylvania, wasn't at school when she made her posting, but she was still suspended for one year from cheerleading activities. The high court's opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer ruled that Levy was in violation of her First Amendment freedom to speech rights. Justice Clarence Thomas voted against, noting that he would have upheld suspension.
Although the justices didn't forbid schools from disciplining students for their off-campus speech, they did not specify when schools could do so. A previous federal appeals court ruling in the case would have prohibited public schools from imposing sanctions on off-campus speech.
Breyer stated that Levy was wrong and that the school's special characteristics which allow them to regulate student speech do not disappear when they regulate speech outside campus. In some cases, the school's regulatory interests are still significant."
This case attracted extra attention during a time when remote learning was becoming more popular due to the coronavirus pandemic and growing awareness about the dangers of online bullying.
Abner Greene, a constitutional lawyer professor at Fordham University School of Law in Manhattan, stated that the decision was a strong endorsement of students’ right to speak freely. The court first did so more than 50 years ago when it defended armbands worn in protest of Vietnam War by high school students.
"Students are free to express their opinions on the Vietnam War and student cheerleading teams, but they don't have to lose their freedom of speech rights." Greene stated that it didn't matter from whom they said it.
Levy's posts led to the case. One picture showed her with a friend who had raised middle fingers. Another included repeated use of vulgarities to complain about being dropped from the varsity cheerleading squad.
Near the end of her first year, she wrote, "F------ school F------ softball F------ cheer f------ all," from a local convenience shop on a Saturday. Levy, now 18, recently completed her first year at college.
After Levy's cheerleading coach discovered the posts, her parents filed a federal suit. They suspended Levy from the junior-varsity cheerleading team for one year. Levy was granted reinstatement by lower courts.
After the broad appellate ruling that off-campus speech was not punishable by schools, the school district appealed the decision to the Supreme Court
This dispute is the latest in a series of cases that started with Tinker v. Des Moines. It was a Vietnam-era case in which a Des Moines high school suspended armband-wearing students. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students and declared that they have not "lost their constitutional rights to freedom speech or expression at schoolhouse gates".
In addition, the court ruled that schools still had the right to prohibit speech that could disrupt the school environment.
Wednesday's ruling basically adopted Judge Thomas Ambro's reasoning from the 3rd U.S. Circuit of Appeals, Philadelphia. Ambro agreed that Levy's case was not warranted. However, Ambro only suspended her because she was not disruptive to either the school or the cheerleading team.
Breyer said that Levy's case was less serious than the Vietnam-era counterpart.
It might be tempting for B. L. to dismiss B. L.’s words as not worthy of the strong First Amendment protections discussed in this article. It is sometimes necessary to protect the unnecessary in order to preserve what is essential," he wrote. He used Levy's initials as that is how she was identified in her original lawsuit. Levy has given numerous interviews that allowed her name to be used.
