Boston College Law School Faculty Papers

Title

Student Speech Rights in the Digital Age

Document Type

Article

Comments

Appears in print as Florida Law Review vol. 60 (December 2008): 1027-1102

Abstract

For several decades courts have struggled to determine when, if ever, public schools should have the power to restrict student expression that does not occur on school grounds during school hours. In the last several years, courts have struggled with this same question in a new context – the digital media. The dramatic increase in the number of student speech cases involving the Internet, mobile phones, and video cameras begs for a closer examination of the scope of school officials’ authority to censor the expression of minors as well as the scope of juvenile speech rights generally. This Article takes a close look at all the various justifications for limiting juvenile speech rights and concludes that none of them supports granting schools broad authority to limit student speech in the digital media, even with respect to violent or harassing expression. Furthermore, this Article argues that the tests most courts and commentators have applied to determine whether a school may control student speech grant schools far too much authority to restrict juvenile speech rights. The Article concludes that the primary approach schools should take to most digital speech is not to punish or restrict such expression, but instead to educate students about how to use digital media responsibly.

Date of Authorship for this Version

October 2008

Keywords

juvenile speech rights, bong hits for Jesus, Morse v. Frederick, digital media, student expression, Tinker v. Des. Moines Independent School District, First Amendment