Free speech on campus—and off—has become a flashpoint for U.S. colleges and universities. Students’ ability to post their comments and concerns online, to forward messages to others for whom they may not have been intended, and to record the speech of faculty and staff or other students and post what may have been considered private speech have created conflict on campus, in the media and sometimes in state legislatures. Particularly for public colleges and universities, Constitutional protections for nearly all speech create challenges for administrators and faculty who prioritize creating a supportive educational environment for their students. In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. 1 that has made it nearly impossible for public institutions to punish students for disruptive social media speech, unless it falls within a few very narrow exceptions such as actual threats against an identified individual or college office, or actionable libel or slander. In that case, the Court ruled 8-1 that student speech on social media made outside of school hours and when the student was not under the control of the school was protected speech under the First Amendment. And although this case involved […]
