Federal appeals court upholds ruling in Mahanoy Area free speech case
MAHANOY CITY – A federal appeals court today ruled in favor of a Mahanoy Area teen who was kicked off a cheerleading squad for a Snapchat post a few years ago, prompting a court battle.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania announced the decision, calling it a “landmark decision,” ruling “that public schools cannot censor students’ off-campus speech based on a fear of disruption of school activities.”
In 2017, a minor, identified as B.L. in court documents, was removed from the cheerleading team for a profanity-laced Snapchat post. She was reinstated to the team in September of 2017, and a federal court in Lackawanna County ruled in her favor in March of 2019, a decision the Mahanoy Area School District promptly appealed.
“The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Mahanoy Area School District in Schuylkill County violated the First Amendment free speech rights of a student when it removed her from the cheerleading team for using an expletive on the social media platform Snapchat to describe her frustration with the team while off campus,” the ACLU wrote in a media release.
The appeals court, the ACLU said, “unanimously agreed that the school violated the First Amendment,” and additionally, two of the three judges “ruled that public schools do not have the power to discipline students for off-campus speech even if the speech causes or is likely to cause a disruption on campus.” The ACLU described the ruling as “the most expansive ruling on students’ off-campus speech rights in the country.”
“Our client was out of school, on her own time, and not involved in a school activity when she made the Snapchat post, and the school went well beyond its power in disciplining her for her speech,” said Sara Rose, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, who argued the case before the appeals court. “We are grateful that the court understood that the same free speech principles apply whether a student is kicked off the cheerleading team or suspended from school for expression that occurs off campus.”
The student was in tenth grade when the case began and graduated this year.
“This is an important decision because it recognizes that students who are outside of school enjoy full free speech rights, not the diluted rights they have inside the schoolhouse,” said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Schools have historically used the ‘disruption’ standard to punish students for criticizing what’s happening at school. This decision clarifies that young people enjoy full First Amendment protection when outside of school.”
The full court decision can be read here:
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