Justin* was a 17-year-old senior at Hickory High School in Pennsylvania. On his grandmother’s computer he created a parody of the school’s principal and posted it on MySpace. It contained silly questions and answers and crude language with the principal’s picture taken from the school’s website. Justin sent it to his friends and it spread to most of the student body. Justin was suspended for ten days and prohibited from attending his graduation ceremony.
Justin challenged the school’s discipline and won. The court stated that “A MySpace internet page is not outside of the protection of the First Amendment.” His parody did not disrupt the school environment or interfere with the school’s mission.
This does not, however, make MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and other sites a safehaven for total expression. If the content poses a true threat of harm to someone or property damage, the school and law enforcement may take action.
*Layshock v. Hermitage School District, 2007 WL 2022096 (2007).
