(Joseph Weber) “I shouldn’t have to be afraid to express myself,” says former high schooler Brandi Levy whose Snapchat post is at center of case.
by Joseph Weber, April 26th, 2021
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday related to a Pennsylvania teenager whose profanity-laced Snapchat post got her kicked off her high school’s cheerleading squad – a test case on First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.
The teen, Brandi Levy, who made the post away from school and on the weekend, says, “I shouldn’t have to be afraid to express myself.”
The case before the nine justices is the Mahanoy Area School District’s appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of Levy that found that the First Amendment bars public school officials from regulating off-campus speech, according to Reuters.
Levy made the Snapchat My Story post in May 2017, two days after Mahanoy Area High School held cheerleader tryouts and Levy, a ninth-grader who had been a junior varsity cheerleader, failed to make the varsity squad.
Such posts, which stay live for only 24, also include Levy and a friend holding up their middle fingers. Levy also reportedly made another post questioning why another girl made the varsity squad.
Coaches ousted Levy from the squad for a year, saying she had broken rules. Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Levy and her parents sued the district seeking reinstatement to the squad and a judgment that her First Amendment rights had been violated, the wire service also reports.
After the school district appealed, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia upheld the lower court decision.
A decision in favor of Levy, could make it harder for teachers and administrators to curb bullying, racism, cheating and invasions of privacy, all frequently occurring online, outside school property or during off hours, according to the district and its supporters.
The ACLU said giving educators the power to police off-campus speech would extend censorship everywhere young people go and prompt schools to conduct “dragnet online surveillance” of students, Reuters also reports.
About The Author
Joseph Weber comes to JusttheNews after covering national politics for Fox News since 2011.
Weber has also been a reporter and editor for such news and media operations as Gannett newspapers and The Washington Times – covering four presidential campaigns, the 9/11 terror attacks and the NFL.
His stories have appeared in such papers as The Baltimore Sun and The Raleigh News & Observer. He has also been a lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism since 2002.
Follow him on Twitter
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