Speech

Mike Tully on June 7th, 2011

We like to warn our children about many things and lately sexting has been on the top of the list. We caution against it, put applications in place to prevent it, and even treat kids as criminals over it. However, it is us adults who are getting far more press about it lately than kids [...]

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Mike Tully on June 4th, 2011

IN 1927, a schoolteacher in Secaucus, N.J., named Helen Clark lost her teaching license. The reason? Somebody had seen her smoking cigarettes after school hours. In communities across the United States, that was a ground for dismissal. So was card-playing, dancing and failure to attend church. Even after Prohibition ended, teachers could be dismissed for [...]

Continue reading about When Teachers Talk Out of School (NYT)

Mike Tully on May 26th, 2011

An Indiana school district is arguing that two girls who were disciplined over online photos in which they posed with phallic lollipops cannot go to trial on free-speech claims because their behavior was “wholly inconsistent with the fundamental values of a public education.” The case tests whether school administrators can stretch beyond campus limits and [...]

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Online social networking includes much more than Facebook and Twitter. It is any online use of technology to connect people, enable them to collaborate with each other, and form virtual communities, says the Young Adult Library Services Association. Social networking sites may allow visitors to send e-mails, post comments, build web content, and/ or take [...]

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Social networking sites have become a popular platform for youth to stay connected. Although these sites have many positive benefits, some tweens and teens are using these channels as weapons to facilitate cyberbullying. A new study from Norton Canada called The Norton Cyberbullying Survey polled parents from across the country about their children’s online experiences. [...]

Continue reading about Canadian Norton Cyberbullying Survey Finds Girls are More Likely than Boys to be Victims of Cyberbullying

Mike Tully on May 10th, 2011

A 19-year-old woman from St. Gallen has become the first person in Switzerland to be convicted of cyber-bullying after she used social networking site Facebook to insult a man who had complained about a local nightclub’s all-night parties. MORE >>>

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(NOTE:  The problem with this decision is that the “evidence” of substantial disruption was the subjective impression of adults who didn’t like dealing with phone calls and emails generate by Avery’s advocacy.  Since when is adult inconvenience a factor that trumps students’ free speech?  I hope the Doninger attorney seeks review en banc.  – Mike) [...]

Continue reading about Avery Doninger Free Speech Update: Online, Off-Campus Comments Punishable, Court Says

The internet is a dark, cruel place, filled with trolls and idiots trying to bombard you with their conspiracy theories or trying to one-up each other with racist jokes. But Assemblyman Micah Kellner wants to change all of that. In a new bill, Kellner would not only want to make identity theft a crime, but [...]

Continue reading about Assemblyman Wants To Make Being Mean On The Internet Illegal (NYC)

Neuqua Valley High School students would be allowed to wear “Be Happy, Not Gay” T-shirts under a ruling Tuesday by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court had rejected Indian Prairie School District 204’s argument that school officials could prohibit students from wearing the shirts to prevent some students from having their feelings [...]

Continue reading about Judge: Anti-gay shirts worn by Neuqua Valley students OK (IL)

Three students at Live Oak HIgh School (LOHS), who were wearing T-shirts depicting the American flag, were informed by Assistant Principal Rodriguez that they would have to either remove the T-shirts or turn them inside-out so the flag would not be visible. The students refused both options. When one of them asked Rodriguez why American [...]

Continue reading about Students prohibited from wearing American flag T-shirts in school on Cinco de Mayo day stated valid First Amendment speech claim against school district and individual school administrators (CA)