# data[].attributes.body
B. L., a Minor, By and Through Her Father, Lawrence Levy, and Her Mother, Betty Lou Levy. The Mahanoy Area School District

# data[].attributes.body
B.L., a student at Mahanoy Area High School (MAHS), tried out for and failed to make her high school's varsity cheerleading team, making instead only the junior varsity team. Over a weekend and away from school, she posted a picture of herself on Snapchat with an offensive caption. The photo was visible to about 250 people, many of whom were MAHS students and some of whom were cheerleaders. Several students who saw the captioned photo approached the coach and expressed concern that the snap was inappropriate. The coaches decided B.L.’s snap violated team and school rules, which B.L. had acknowledged before joining the team, and she was suspended from the junior varsity team for a year.

# data[].attributes.body
Does the First Amendment prohibit public school officials from regulating off-campus student speech?

# data[].attributes.body
The First Amendment limits but does not entirely prohibit regulation of off-campus student speech by public school officials, and, in this case, the school district’s decision to suspend B.L. from the cheerleading team for posting to social media vulgar language and gestures critical of the school violates the First Amendment. Justice Stephen Breyer authored the 8-1 majority opinion of the Court.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Petitioner

Mahanoy Area School District

Respondent

B. L., a Minor, By and Through Her Father, Lawrence Levy, and Her Mother, Betty Lou Levy

Lower court

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Facts of the case

B.L., a student at Mahanoy Area High School (MAHS), tried out for and failed to make her high school's varsity cheerleading team, making instead only the junior varsity team. Over a weekend and away from school, she posted a picture of herself on Snapchat with the caption "Fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything." The photo was visible to about 250 people, many of whom were MAHS students and some of whom were cheerleaders. Several students who saw the captioned photo approached the coach and expressed concern that the snap was inappropriate. The coaches decided B.L.'s snap violated team and school rules, which B.L. had acknowledged before joining the team, and she was suspended from the junior varsity team for a year.

B.L. sued the school under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging (1) that her suspension from the team violated the First Amendment; (2) that the school and team rules were overbroad and viewpoint discriminatory; and (3) that those rules were unconstitutionally vague. The district court granted summary judgment in B.L.'s favor, ruling that the school had violated her First Amendment rights. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed.

Question

Does the First Amendment prohibit public school officials from regulating off-campus student speech?

Cite this page

"Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L." Oyez, www.oyez.org/cases/2020/20-255. Accessed 3 Jun. 2021.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mahanoy Area School District B. L., a Minor, By and Through Her Father, Lawrence Levy, and Her Mother, Betty Lou Levy United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit B.L., a student at Mahanoy Area High School (MAHS), tried out for and failed to make her high school's varsity cheerleading team, making instead only the junior varsity team.