Bill of Rights Resources
The First Amendment
http://www.constitutionbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=787
News Resources
Can You Trash Your Teacher on Facebook?
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/trash-teacher-facebook/story?id=9903651
Judge: Dissing a teacher on Facebook is protected speech
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/02/federal-judge-rules-that-dissing-a-teacher-on-facebook-is-protected-speech/1
Facebook gripes protected by free speech, ruling says
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/ptech/02/16/facebook.speech.ruling/index.html
Discussion Questions
- Why was Katie Evans suspended from school and removed from Advanced Placement classes?
She was suspended because of her disruptive behavior and cyberbullying of a staff member.
- Why did Evans sue the principal, and how did the Court rule when the principal asked to have the case dismissed?
Evans believed that her online speech was protected by the First Amendment. The Court refused to dismiss the suit and held that suit could proceed.
- Do you agree with the Court’s ruling? Why or why not?
Accept reasoned answers.
- Evans created the Facebook page at home. Would it have made any difference if she:
- had created it at school?
- had spoken the words aloud at school during class?
- had spoken the words privately to a friend during lunch?
- were an adult?
While the Supreme Court has held that students “do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” it has never interpreted the rights of minors in public school to be the same as those of adults. Schools have the constitutional power to maintain order, and student speech that creates a substantial disruption may be limited with no First Amendment violation.
- What action, if any, do you think public schools should be able to constitutionally take when students insult teachers on the Internet?
Students may say that speech posted online has blurred the line between on- and off-campus speech. (And courts have upheld punishments for both on- and off-campus speech.) Also, while insults by adult citizens are protected by the First Amendment, the First Amendment rights of public school students are not the same as adults’. Schools have a responsibility to maintain a safe learning environment and that must be balanced with the rights of students.
- Should the First Amendment protect a student who creates a Facebook page to insult another student? How about a teacher who creates a Facebook page for the purpose of complaining about a disruptive student? Why or why not?
Accept reasoned answers.
Extensions
A. Have students enter the Bill of Rights Institute’s newest contest: First 5 in My Life Video Contest. They should create a 2 minute video about H.R. 1966 -- the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act. If enacted into law, this bill would make it a federal crime to use the Internet or other electronic devices to engage in “severe cyberbullying.” In their video, students should inform viewers about the facts of this issue; analyze the constitutional question; draw a conclusion; and persuade viewers to accept their conclusion. Contest Details and a complete lesson on the First Amendment can be found at www.DoYouHavetheRight.org/First5
B. Have students compare and contrast Evan’s case with three landmark Supreme Court cases. Ask students: If you were the judge in this case, which of these landmark rulings (if any) would guide your reasoning and why?
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
http://www.constitutionbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=709
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)
http://www.constitutionbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=720
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
http://www.constitutionbee.org/user/StudentGuide.aspx?id=962
