Friday, May 30, 2008

a very very very bad decision

just because someone is less than 18 years old, doesn't mean the constitution doesn't pertain to THEM too
NY court finds speech made outside of school can be punished
By Larry Neumeister
Associated Press Writer / May 29, 2008
NEW YORK—A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a high school was within its rights to punish a student for writing critical comments about school administrators on the Internet.
more stories like this
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Lewis Mills High School in Burlington, Conn., has a responsibility like any school to teach students the boundaries of socially appropriate behavior.
"Vulgar or offensive speech -- speech that an adult making a political point might have a constitutional right to employ -- may legitimately give rise to disciplinary action by a school," the court said.
Avery Doninger was disciplined after she used derogatory language to describe the administrators in a blog entry she made outside of school in April 2007.
Doninger's mother filed a lawsuit against the school, claiming her daughter's freedom of speech rights had been compromised. A lower court judge ruled that the school acted appropriately in disqualifying her from running for senior class secretary..........

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