Student Expression and the First Amendment: Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L.

Abstract

The central issue at the heart of Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L. [594U.S. _____ (2021)] was whether public schools can regulate students’ off-campus speech. The case brought about novel legal questions clarifying the Court’s position on off-campus speech made via social media, which can be viewed on campus. In an 8-1 decision, the Court held that the First Amendment was violated by the Mahanoy Area School District for suspending student B. L. from extracurricular activities for posting profane messages on social media while off-campus. Justice Breyer wrote the majority opinion, Alito wrote a concurring opinion (joined by Justice Gorsuch), and Justice Thomas was the lone dissenter. After failing to make the Mahanoy Area High School varsity cheerleading squad, student B.L. posted two images on social media (Snapchat). The Snapchat messages were sent to a small group of her immediate friends and were only shared temporarily in accordance with the basic functions of the Snapchat application. B.L.’s messages were a crude expression of frustration using both obscene language and gestures. The gesture was the display of the middle finger and the caption on the image read: “f k school f k softball f k cheer f k everything.” Although this message was initially intended to be temporary and reach only a small designated audience, one recipient stored a copy of the Snapchat message and shared the message with school officials. In addition, a screenshot was widely shared among the cheerleading team and the student body. Upon receiving evidence of B.L.’s social media messages, school officials took punitive action and suspended her from the junior varsity cheerleading team for one full year. School officials reasoned that B.L. had broken school policy by “us(ing) profanity in connection with a school extracurricular activity.” School officials justified their decision arguing that B.L. had violated the code of conduct for the cheerleading team which forbade profanity as well as posting negative information about cheerleading on the internet. This code of conduct had been formally approved by the school board as well as by the cheerleading coaching staff. After repeated attempts by B.L. and her parents to get this punishment reversed, the case ended up in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The Mahanoy Area School District argued that it was permissible for them to punish B.L. as she had waived her rights to free speech by engaging in an extracurricular activity and signing a code of conduct. Attorneys for B.L. argued that her speech was a private matter consisting of the airing of frustrations outside of school hours and outside of school grounds, which B.L. had shared only among her immediate friend group. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo relied on precedent set in J.S. ex rel. Snyder v. Blue Mountain School District [650 F.3d 915 (2011)] to grant a summary judgment in favor of B.L. In J.S. ex rel. Snyder, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit had reversed a student suspension that was the result of lewd comments directed at school officials over the social media platform MySpace. Judge Caputo’s opinion focused on the nature of the communication as well as its relationship to the school utilizing