Legal Standards for Students’ Off-Campus Expression: Are They Clearly Established?

• In Event: What’s OK? Speech and Behavior for Students

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a comprehensive study of litigation pertaining to students’ off-campus expression rights. All federal appellate court rulings involving off-campus expression and federal district court decisions on this topic rendered since 2000 have been carefully analyzed as to how these courts applied the standards articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in its four decisions governing student speech. Particular attention is given to electronic expression and the three federal appellate decisions rendered since April, 2011. Conclusions are drawn regarding the vitality of the various Supreme Court standards, and implications of recent legal developments for school personnel are explored.

Author

• Martha M. McCarthy, Loyola Marymount University