This document outlines 10 rules that guide schools' authority over student cyber expressions based on court precedents. The rules establish that while students have First Amendment rights, schools can censor student speech if it causes substantial disruption, interferes with education, is lewd/vulgar, or regulates time/place/manner. Schools have editorial control over school-sponsored speech and can regulate it based on pedagogical concerns. Schools can also regulate some off-campus speech that impacts the school and restrict expressions inconsistent with civil social values. Schools are not required to tolerate true threats, criminal speech, or activities.

1. Top Ten Rules That Govern
School Authority Over Student
Cyber Expressions

2. Schools can and will adjust to the new
challenges created by…..Students and
the Internet. Students need to know that
school boundaries exist, even on the
internet.

3. Well crafted School Policies ….
• Lay out expectations, define rights and
responsibilities, describe procedures and
detail the remedies available if the policy is
violated.
• Policies allow administrators to create a
type of private law that governs the school
community.

4. For Example…..
• A school with a long standing anti bullying policy
may, based on its findings of an increase in offensive
text messaging and emailing among students, amend
it‟s policy to include a prohibition against cyber
bullying.

5. School leaders craft policies they
think are appropriate, publish and
distribute the policies, and require
parents and students to return
signed permission or
acknowledgement. School policies
then become the law of the school.

6. The following 10 general
principles guiding cyber bullying
situations in schools have
emerged from court precedents.

7. Rule1: First amendment
provision apply to Public school
students

8. The First Amendment
• Students have amendment rights
• They have right to express opinions on
controversial topics
• They also have the right to express them freely ;
don‟t possess unlimited rights!
• Schools have the power and duty to intervene
• School‟s purpose involves more learning than
debate

9. Rule2: Censorship is
permissible if….
• Student expression reasonably suggests a
substantial disruption to school activities.

10. Rule 3: Censorship is
permissible if….
• Students expression actually interferes
with Students‟ right to educational benefits
or substantially detracts from the learning
environment.

11. Rule 4: Lewd vulgar or profane
language is inappropriate in a
public educational environment.
• Schools have the authority to prohibit lewd
, offensive and vulgar student expressions
from occurring on campus in public
discourse.

12. Rule 5: Regulations may be imposed with
respect to time , place and manner of
student expressions
• Schools may establish standards to prevent
expressions that are ungrammatical, poorly
written , inadequately researched , biases, or
prejudiced or expressed in an inappropriate
tone.

13. Rule 6: Regulate school
sponsored expression
• School sponsored expression include those
created as a part of the school curriculum or a
school sponsored activity.
• School administrators exercise editorial control
over student assignments, school publications and
other school sponsored expressive activities.

14. Rule 7:Regulate school
sponsored expression on the
basis of any legitimate
Pedagogical Concerns.
• Schools to censor student expression for
legitimate pedagogical purposes.

15. Rule8: Regulate Off campus
expressions
• Only if the sting of the expressions
significantly impacts the school
environment may the school intervene.
• When school activities disrupt, School
should draw a line!

16. Rule9: Some expressions
may be restricted
• Expressions may be restricted if it is
Reasonably perceived to be inconsistent with
the “Shared values of a civilized social order”
• School‟s obligation is to instill „Values‟ and to
teach „boundaries‟
• School meet this when they allow students to
observe freedom of speech
• But school should impart „Boundaries‟

17. Rule10: Regulation of True
threats and criminal activity
• Schools may restrict student expression that
falls outside of amendment protection
• School need not tolerate criminal activities
• School should decide „True threats‟

18. References
• Educational Technology for school leaders
by Lynne Schrum
• Google images
• Yahoo images