What the Supreme Court's 'cursing cheerleader' decision means for students' free speech rights

published 23 June 2021

In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with "cursing cheerleader" Brandi Levy, who was suspended from her cheerleading squad after sharing an off-campus, profanity-laced Snapchat criticizing both her Pennsylvania high school and her team, The New York Times reports.

Notably, the ruling failed to adopt "clear cut" guidelines that justify a school's interference in student speech when off grounds. Instead, the majority opinion penned by Justice Stephen Breyer purports that while public schools may have "special interest" in regulating off-campus speech, the "special interests" offered by the school in this particular case were not enough to overcome Levy's "interest in free expression."

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The Court was, however, sure to reject the idea that schools can never regulate off-campus speech, especially in instances of "serious or severe bullying," threats, and "breaches of school security devices," a defection from a previous decision in favor of Levy by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that categorically barred schools from regulating off-campus speech entirely, the Times reports.

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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.

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