US court weighs school discipline for Web posts

[usregimechange]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A U.S. appeals court heard arguments Thursday over whether school officials can discipline students for making lewd, harassing or juvenile Internet postings from off-campus computers.

Two students from two different Pennsylvania school districts are fighting suspensions they received for posting derisive profiles of their principals on MySpace from home computers. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that school officials infringe on student's free speech rights when they reach beyond school grounds in such cases to impose discipline.

"While children are in school, they are under the custody and tutelage of the school," ACLU lawyer Witold Walczak argued Thursday in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "Once they leave the schoolhouse gate, you've got parents that come into play."

But a lawyer for the Hermitage School District in western Pennsylvania offered a different view. "It's not a matter of where you throw the grenade, it's where the grenade lands," Anthony Sanchez said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MYSPACE_SCHOOL_PARODY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[lazarus]

1. the grenade

didn't land anywhere near the school. If they had posted derogatory remarks on the school website, I could maybe see action, but MySpace? Ridiculous.

[usregimechange]

3. Yeah, wasn't sure where that came from

[madrchsod]

2. liable, slander,or harassment yes...opinion-no

the legitimacy of the first three is left up to the courts...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. There are serious precedents backing the students