“PROTECTING THE SUPERFLUOUS…TO PRESERVE THE NECESSARY”: WHOSE IS THE POWER? THE CASE OF THE CURSING CHEERLEADER: MAHANOY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT V. B.L.

Authors

Lisa Smith-Butler, Charleston School of LawFollow

Abstract

This article explores the free speech rights of students in the public school setting while off-campus in the recently decided Supreme Court of the United States case of Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. It examines the history of school discipline from the American colonial period to the present, and briefly explores the First Amendment doctrine regarding content regulation. Next, it reviews the line of Supreme Court decisions from Tinker onwards regarding students’ First Amendment rights in the public school setting and then studies decisions from circuit courts. It then considers the various rules proposed by all of the litigants before the Court, including the acting Solicitor General in Mahanoy. It selects the most feasible rule and applies it
to the facts of the case.

Recommended Citation

Lisa Smith-Butler, “PROTECTING THE SUPERFLUOUS…TO PRESERVE THE NECESSARY”: WHOSE IS THE POWER? THE CASE OF THE CURSING CHEERLEADER: MAHANOY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT V. B.L., 27 Barry L. Rev. 1 (2022).
Available at: https://lawpublications.barry.edu/barrylrev/vol27/iss1/1