Free speech is vital, even in high school

When high school students step off the street and onto school property, they leave certain… When high school students step off the street and onto school property, they leave certain rights behind. Free speech, for example, is limited for students if their speech is distracting, and understandably so. But while at home – or online – students are free to speak their minds without worrying about punishment from school authorities.

If someone had explained this to administrators of Pittsburgh’s Keystone Oaks School District two years ago, they would be better off financially.

The school district has recently agreed to pay $60,000 in damages and attorney fees to former student Jack Flaherty, who is now a sophomore at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Like most settlements and lawsuit penalties these days, the Flaherty settlement is a large amount of money awarded under the vague category of “damages.” Although it may be outrageous, it is an appropriate response to the school district’s actions.

In March 2001, the school discovered that Flaherty, then a varsity volleyball player, had posted four messages from his home computer on an Internet bulletin board dedicated to Western Pennsylvania High School Volleyball. Most of the messages on the board are described as “trash talk” between opposing players. One of Flaherty’s messages was directed toward an opposing player whose mother is employed by Keystone Oaks. Flaherty’s message said the player’s mother was a “bad art teacher.”

When the school found out about the message, it responded harshly, kicking Flaherty off the volleyball team, barring him from attending after-school events, and denying him access to any of the school’s computers.

The ACLU took Flaherty’s case before U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose, who ordered the immediate reinstatement of Flaherty’s privileges. But instead of allowing him back on the volleyball team, Keystone Oaks canceled its entire volleyball season.

While Flaherty probably did not endure $60,000 worth of damage, the school district certainly earned its punishment. The notion that the administration’s power extends into students’ homes is ridiculous, and the decision to disobey a federal judge by punishing the entire volleyball team is deplorable.

If Keystone Oaks has a bad art teacher, its administration is far worse, and no student deserves punishment for saying so.