EFF And ACLU Explain To Tennessee School Board That Its New Internet Policy Violates Both The 1st & 4th Amendments
from the a-twofer dept
We've seen over and over again recently that schools seem to have a bizarre notion of how the First Amendment works with things like "free speech zones" and the like. There are all sorts of policies popping up that try to ban free speech. In perhaps the most famous court case concerning free speech in schools, Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court noted, importantly, that students do not shed their constitutional rights just because they've entered a school building. More recently, the courts have (tragically) chipped away at that ruling, but the core of it still stands. And schools still don't seem to realize that it's true. Instead, they seem to want, increasingly, to regulate speech of students in completely unconstitutional ways.Over in Tennessee, the EFF and the ACLU have teamed up to challenge a new school board policy from the Williamson County Board of Education, which is something of a twofer: not only does it violate the First Amendment, but the Fourth Amendment as well. The policy is the school's "Acceptable Use, Media Release, and Internet Safety Procedures and Guidelines" that effectively bar students from ever saying anything the school deems "inappropriate" or "unauthorized" on any computer equipment that they bring to school (even if the speech is done off-campus) and also make all of the students subject to searches of their devices and monitoring of what they do online. Here's the short summary from the letter (which is quite detailed and runs 10 pages long):
Of particular concern are (i) the social media guidelines applicable to students when engaged in off-campus speech; (ii) the "Bring Your Own Technology" guidelines, pursuant to which students are required to consent to suspicionless searches of their electronic devices "at any time" for any "school- related purpose"; and (iii) the network security and email guidelines, pursuant to which all data and communications of network users are subject to suspicionless monitoring.Let's hope the school district recognizes its mistake, otherwise it appears that there may be a legal challenge to the policy coming up shortly.
While the Policy may be the product of a well-intentioned effort to ensure student safety and network security, and to ensure that classrooms are not disrupted, the Policy goes too far and, as written, violates students' constitutional rights. It (a) functions as a prior restraint on speech, allowing school officials to censor student speech in and out of school, and (b) permits officials to conduct suspicionless searches of (i) any electronic devices that students bring to school and (ii) all data and communications stored or transmitted on the WCS network. In so doing, the guidelines overstep the school district's authority and impermissibly burden the First and Fourth Amendment rights of WCS students. As the United States Supreme Court famously held in the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, students do not "shed their constitutional rights . . . at the schoolhouse gate."
![Hide This Hide this](https://ii.techdirt.com/s/t/i/topclose.png)
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: first amendment, fourth amendment, free speech, policy, schools, social media, tennessee
Companies: williamson county schools
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The US fought the Taliban
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I'm going to hope for world peace and free pizza for everyone because it has a better chance of happening.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Why...
I mean that is essentially what that policy says.
What is so damning that a 14 year old can do that they are so afraid of?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why...
Easy. Bullying, sexual harassment, racism, hacking, religious and other forms of intolerance, insulting teachers or administrators, whistle blowing, chewing poptarts into gun shapes and going "pew pew"; yada, yada.
Why schools consider it their jobs to police their charges' thoughtcrimes, as opposed to just educating them, is a mystery. Do parents these days send their kids to school to get an education, or is it just subsidized daycare?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Why...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Why...
Nonetheless, even if the assertion were totally right, that doesn't excuse the school's behavior and attitude on this.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Why...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Why...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
To paraphrase . . .
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Use Tor.
Everyone who uses Tor is under suspicion of terrorism, criminal activity, or Radical Privacy Activism.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
You bastard, you found me out! So boycotting them is evidence of guilt, as much as infringement! Curses, foiled again! That's it. I'm going back to classical music and reading dead tree books, both borrowed from the library or found in second hand stores.
This century just sucks the fun out of everything. :-(
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
1) Using TOR
2) Not using TOR
3) Not using the internet
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"Let's hope the school district recognizes its mistake..."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "Let's hope the school district recognizes its mistake..."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Easy fix
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Easy fix
[ link to this | view in chronology ]