Preview

Do Public Schools Have Grounds To Punish Students For Their Off-Campus Online Speech?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1194 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Do Public Schools Have Grounds To Punish Students For Their Off-Campus Online Speech?
Do Public Schools Have Grounds to Punish Students for Their Off-Campus Online Speech?
Students raised in today’s technologically advanced society are enjoying amenities that simply could not be imagined even a few decades ago. One of these technology-enabled privileges include online communication via social media websites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. At the present time, the utilization of online social media within the student population has become so mainstream that formal college admissions applications are beginning to request students’ personal social media address alongside their home and mailing address. Furthermore, many institutions of higher education boast flamboyant official websites that encourage prospective students …show more content…
Thus, it is quite likely that schools may not have established official policies regarding online social media, and, even if pertinent policies do exist, the students may not be cognizant of these policies until after the fact. To this end, the current issue presents two opposing perspectives with respect to public schools’ authority over students’ online social media activity executed off-campus. On one side, in Layshock v. Hermitage School District, Chief Judge Theodore A. McKee, acting on behalf of the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals, upheld Hermitage School District’s decision to discipline a student for his derogatory online speech regarding the principal that was originated outside of the school premises on the MySpace social media platform. In contrast, on the other side, in J.S. v. Blue Mountain School District, Chief Judge Theodore A. McKee, again acting on behalf of the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals, overruled Blue Mountain School District’s decision to punish a student for a very similar offense. After carefully examining the aforementioned perspectives regarding this contemporary educational issue, I have concluded that public schools lack sufficient justification to …show more content…
J., & Robbins, T. W. (2012). Decision-making in the adolescent brain. Nature
Neuroscience, 15(9), 1184-1191.
Bosker, B. (2011, August 25). ‘Tweet,’ ‘Social Media’ added to Merriam-Webster
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Seth Linder's Parody Case Study
    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Seth Linder's Parody Case Study

    This Court held that student expression may not be suppressed unless school official reasonably conclude that it will “… materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate disciple in the operation of the school.” Tinker at 513 (1969). The problem posed by the case at bar relates to the level of disruption caused by the production of the parody profile. If there is any sense of disruption, the school would have to believe that there was “substantial” interference. The profile page was widely viewed by students outside of the school and by students on their personal cellphones while at school. The viewing of the profile outside of school did not cause any disruption to the operation of the school. There is no indication that the viewing of the profile during school disrupted the work of the school or any class. Tinker displayed that the Petitioners went about their day completely normally. The only change was the black band on their sleeves. They neither interrupted school activities nor disrupted in the school’s operation. Tinker concluded that, “In the circumstances, our Constitution does not permit officials…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Summary: Inaccurately Vetting Students
    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Summary: Inaccurately Vetting Students

    Social media is a way people can share their lives with each other by just the click of a button. Recently, the checking and posting on social media has become a daily routine of almost everyone’s life. This allows people to access an unlimited amount of information in seconds. People that have social media accounts are able to post everything from family vacation photos to what their political views are at any time. While on most social media accounts there are privacy settings where a person cannot see the content of somebody’s account unless the owner of that account has accepted them, once something is online, it no longer is private. By sharing information that everyone can see, people’s private…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    green chem
    • 1101 Words
    • 4 Pages

    green chem

    As an attorney specializing in labor and employment and higher education law, Bostonian, Dana L. Fleming wrote an article entitled, “Youthful Indiscretions: Should Colleges Protect Social Network Users from Themselves and Others? The article was published in the Winter 2008 The New England Journal of Higher Education. In 2008, two social networking sites, MySpace and Facebook, were becoming increasingly popular with young people. Adolescents, college students, and people in their twenties began to expose their lives online for all the world to see. Fleming questions the role that colleges and universities should play protecting its students from the dangers of indiscrete online exposure.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Module 7 Assignment Questions: Answers
    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Module 7 Assignment Questions: Answers

    Adolescents strive for more freedom to make independent decisions. From what you have learned about the adolescent brain and from this chapter’s discussion about cognition, what are some of the factors that influence decision making (both good and bad) in this age group?…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Teen Driving And The Teen Brain: Video Analysis
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Teen Driving And The Teen Brain: Video Analysis

    The Part of the brain that houses our decision making skill is the frontal lobe, which is at the front of your head. From what we learned in class the brain develops slowly overtime. Developing from the back to the front and the bottom to the top. Therefore, the young adult…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cyberbullying Dbq
    • 283 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cyberbullying Dbq

    Are we really free? As Americans, we like to think that we can do what we want. But maybe it shouldn’t be that way. Most students use texting, email, and social network sites. But some students abuse the methods and cause big problems. I am recommending that the school adopt a policy that allows the school to limit students’ online speech. There are three reasons why this is a good idea: cyberbullying is a widespread problem, it is materially disruptive, and schools have a duty to protect the civil rights of students, teachers, and administrators.…

    • 283 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    First Amendment In School
    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First Amendment In School

    Modern day students have found a new way to harass others through social media sites and electronics. Cyber bullying is on the rise and school administrators are having a difficult time creating a safe learning environment for all students without infringing upon first amendment rights. School officials now have to ask themselves when it is appropriate to punish students for behavior outside of class. All school systems should have the power to override a student’s freedom of speech if that student causes substantial disruption of the school environment.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    limiting free speech essay
    • 501 Words
    • 2 Pages

    limiting free speech essay

    Cyberbullying is not a disruptive factor to school systems as the public school systems are making it out to be. In the J.S v. blue mountain school district case, J.S created a Myspace profile about her middle school principle, the profile did not include the name of the principle or the school name just a picture of him. Students of course at the school talked about it but they have that right according to the 1st amendment it is the right to free speech. I feel that what she did didn’t cause harm to the principle or physical dangers of other students merely a simple joke. I feel that for her being suspended was an unreasonable action. The facts simply do not support the outcome that the school district could assume it disrupted any school ordinary day functions.…

    • 501 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Social Media's Negative Effects On Student Athletes
    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Social Media's Negative Effects On Student Athletes

    Social media impacts the lives of student-athletes in some of the most negative ways, by reducing the usage of social media, student-athletes goals and aspirations can be saved from being sucked into Pandora’s Box of social media. Many college recruiters look at a prospective student-athletes social media profile without telling the prospect and sometimes social media can be the tip of the iceberg about accepting the student. A student-athlete…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hate Speech On Campus
    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hate Speech On Campus

    Free speech is one of the most controversial and confusing of the amendments. Throw it into a college campus setting and it’s an extremely complex matter, especially when “Hate Speech” is involved. Many people have different views and definitions on what hate speech in tales, for instance in “Hate Speech on Campus”, Joseph S. Tuman, defines it as “Written or spoken words directed towards a particular group (typically although not exclusively a minority group) with the purpose or effect of verbally harassing and harming them” (413). A personal interpretation of hate speech is speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. With this being said, hate speech is a form of free speech. By removing, or writing codes…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    First Amendment In Schools
    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages

    First Amendment In Schools

    When looking at Tinker, the Court ushered in a criterion where school administrations have the right to control student’s First Amendment rights for free speech, when the speech has the potential to cause a disruption or interference towards class learning and events (393 U.S. 503). Under Frasier, an exception was introduced that would allow school administrations to control student speech if the content was deemed to be obscene and vulgar thus being offensive to the student body and staff. Ultimately, the exception is allowed without there being an explicit disruption from the speech content (478 U.S. 675). The decision in Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court’s decision officiated a new standard that would allow regulation of student speech if the administration viewed the content as representing the school (484 U.S. 260). Lastly, in Morse, the Supreme Court held that student speech could be restricted if the content has the effect of endorsing illegal drug use (551 U.S. 393). Thus, there are at least four standards that the Supreme Court may use when considering student speech when dealing with public school, however, the same rules do not always apply to college…

    • 1339 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    First Amendment Rights In Schools
    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages

    First Amendment Rights In Schools

    With the advancement of technology comes increased connectivity to a digital world where our children find themselves with limited guidance. This new realm is one that parents and educators have continually tried to navigate in an attempt to create a safer place for our children. Parents try to protect their children by imposing restrictions on Internet usage, while teachers struggle to teach Internet safety and digital citizenship in the classroom. Holding our youth accountable for their online behavior in a society that values Internet sensaltionalism has proven to be difficult, causing those in positions of authority to ask themselves where to draw the line. As the answer to this question changes with each new case, and more and more children…

    • 1535 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Teen And Decision Making: How Dendrites Get Information
    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Teen And Decision Making: How Dendrites Get Information

    Imagine how your brain works. It has a preferential cortex, also axons and neurons. Last thing is the dendrites get information. Another thing is the myelination passes information. Throughout the article “Teen and Decision making” it’s clear that the brain functions in many ways.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Synthesis Essay On Social Media Hiring
    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Synthesis Essay On Social Media Hiring

    Social media is extremely popular among young adults and it has a huge impact on their daily lives. In today’s society, everyone is very sociable and it is very predictable that the individuals would share their daily life on social media. Which has an impact on their professional life and the greatest impact social media had on the society, especially young adults is that it made much harder to get a job and get accepted into college. One in ten colleges administers and employers look at the applicant's social profile and determine if the individual gets hired or get admitted. Some in society argue that administers and employers should check social profile before hiring or accepting the applicant because it represents and reflects on the…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Free Online Speech
    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Free Online Speech

    It is doubtful that every piece of legislation enacted by our government can replace vigilant parents. Keen points out the unfortunate case of a thirteen-year old girl, Megan Meier, who committed suicide, due to online bullying by a fabricated persona, whom turned out to be her forty-seven year old neighbor, Lori Drew, the mother of girl with whom Megan had argued. Drew was not charged for the murder because it wasn’t illegal (69). Drew should be held accountable and penalized for her vicious attack on Megan but, where were Megan’s parents while this online harassment escalated into her death. The parents carry the ultimate responsibility of monitoring their children’s internet use. Perhaps there should be more discussion between parents and their children as to what is right and wrong in the online world. With the appropriate guidance, children can avoid situations that can be potentially dangerous. It is saddening that Meier had to go through such cruelty…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics