Ruling on student free speech has practical implications for schools

School Law

By Susan Nicholas

Susan Nicholas is senior counsel with Robbins Schwartz. She focuses her practice on serving employers, educational entities, municipalities and other public bodies in all aspects of labor and employment law and general student matters. Nicholas is the former president and treasurer of the Decatur Bar Association’s executive board. She also served as a Macon County Teen Court moderator.

Posted July 22, 2021 11:54 AM

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that suspension of a student from a school district’s junior varsity cheerleading team based upon two Snapchat stories posted by the student was improper under the First Amendment. This case has practical implications for how school districts may develop and implement extracurricular codes of conduct.B.L., a high school student, tried out for both varsity cheerleading and a private softball team. B.L. did not make the varsity cheerleading team and did not get the specific position …

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