Posted on 01/28/2006 6:04:00 PM PST by NormsRevenge
PITTSBURGH - A high school senior who was transferred to an alternative school as punishment for parodying his principal on the Internet is suing the district, arguing it violated his freedom of speech.
Justin Layshock had used his grandmother's computer and the Web site MySpace.com to create a phony profile under the principal's name and photo.
The site asks questions, and Justin filled in answers peppered with vulgarities, fat jokes and, to the question "what did you do on your last birthday?" the response: "too drunk to remember," according to the lawsuit filed on Justin's behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union.
School officials weren't amused. They questioned the teenager about the site on Dec. 21, and he apologized to the principal, the ACLU said.
Then, on Jan. 6, the district suspended Justin for 10 days and transferred him to an alternative program typically reserved for students with behavior or attendance problems, according to the lawsuit. He also was banned from school events, including tutoring and graduation ceremonies.
"The school's punishment affects his education," said Witold Walczak, Pennsylvania Legal Director of the ACLU. "In this critical last semester, Justin's opportunities to gain admission to college may be irreparably damaged."
According to the lawsuit, Pennsylvania State University notified Justin that his application had been put on "a registration hold" and asked for more information about the suspension. "It is unknown how or why the university had received this information, since it is supposed to be confidential under federal-student-privacy laws," the lawsuit says.
Officials with the Hermitage School District declined to comment.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, seeks Justin's immediate reinstatement to his regular school. A hearing for a temporary order is set for Monday.
"Not to excuse it, but school officials need to understand that they're not parents," Walczak said. "School officials can't reach into parents' homes and tell them how to raise their kids."
Is there anyone who hasn't made fun of their principal during their high school years?
Free speech or not, it was wrong and the kid knew it was wrong as evidenced by his apology and the fact that I'm sure he didn't go up to the principal and say "hey! check out my new myspace.com. You'll love it!"
"That depends on the definition of sex." Prez BJ
Of course we didn't have computers back then.
Yeah, that's the problem. We must have respect! We must have ORDER!
That kid has been sent off to re-education camp and might not get into college. Have they drugged him? Does this scenario sound familiar? Have these tactics been used by anyone else?
Good thing he didn't egg his car!
Have you been in a school lately?
My D-i-Ls sister taught 4th grade. 2 yrs ago she told a 4TH grader to sit down. He said "F##k you". Her hubby, a 6'6" cop, came to have lunch with her and spoke to the boy. You know what the kid said? Yup. "F##k you."
I do have respect and order in my classroom, and I have never raised my voice above a normal. When I have had a kid tell me to Eff off, I have a special way of dealing with it that doesn't require me to send him/her to the principal.
I would gather that the reason the kid said that to your DIL's sister is because he says it on a regular basis to the other adults in his life. Can't wait for him to try that with a cop when he's been stopped for a traffic violation.
My answer was to post 25 and because 25 was addressed to you I included you in my respone. :)
Can't wait for him to try that with a cop when he's been stopped for a traffic violation.
Well, he wasn't intimidated by the 6'6" cop. So it's not looking good!
All good :)
Slander and desrespect from children has nothing to do with "freedom of speech."
I guess I haven't been to a school for awhile. I can't even imagine a kid doing that.
That's not the issue here, though. It's the principal and the state who are out of control.
I hope the kid wins a big settlement and defects to a free country. "
I guess then you wouldn't mind a student parody over the internet of your wife or daughter's picture and name depicting them as "hookers"??
But the student who set up the website and over and over slandered the principal was not in the wrong?
Sorry. That's EXACTLY the issue.
Now if only the student had been insulting President Bush, then he would be hailed as creative and given accolades.
It's not "slander". It's a joke. Grow up. Everyone who read it would know it's a joke. That's what's wrong with this country. That's how we get TSA thugs.
If he'd done it at school or drawn the principal's name on a wall or something, that would be punishable. This kid was at home for Heaven's sake! He wasn't hacking into the guy's computer or anything. The forced apology was plenty.
I would like to know what other kinds of trouble the kid done in school and how often.
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