Supreme Court Issues Victory for Free Speech, but Questions Remain

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation

The Supreme Court issued a win Wednesday for Brandi Levy, a former Mahanoy Area School District student known to court watchers as the “cussing cheerleader.” But the court’s decision made it unclear what other types of student speech a public school can censor.

After failing to make her school’s varsity cheerleading squad, Levy posted two Snapchat images with vulgar language and gestures. School officials discovered the posts and suspended Levy from the junior varsity cheerleading squad for the upcoming year. Levy sued, arguing that punishing her for her speech violated the First Amendment.

In the 8-1 opinion penned by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court agreed with Levy. But similar to Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, the court did not provide ironclad protection for the First Amendment or specify under what circumstances First Amendment rights must give way to a governmental interest.

Instead, the court determined that while public schools may have an interest in regulating some off-campus speech, the specific facts of Levy’s case were insufficient to overcome her interest in free expression.

[Valin]

@Geee

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