In June 2021, the United States Supreme Court issued an
8-1 ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. by and
through Levy, 141 S.Ct. 2038 (2021), holding that the
suspension by a public high school of a student from the
school's cheerleading team, after the student sent a vulgar
social-media message disparaging the team while she was off campus,
violated the First Amendment. In doing so, the Supreme Court held
that, although public schools may have an interest in regulating
student speech, this interest is diminished when the speech occurs
off campus. The Court provided much-needed guidance to lower courts
about how to evaluate restrictions on off-campus student speech
under the First Amendment.
