The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Pennsylvania cheerleader Brandi Levy in a case that addressed public schools’ ability to penalize students for off-campus speech. The 8-1 ruling held that the school’s interest in regulating student speech did not extend to Levy’s free expression, and further that public schools must have a “heavy burden to justify intervention.”
Levy, who as a freshman in 2017 did not make the varsity cheer team, posted a profanity-laced rant on Snapchat, saying, “F-ck school f-ck softball f-ck cheer f-ck everything.” When a screenshot of the post made its way to school officials, Levy was suspended from the junior varsity cheer squad for a year. After the school refused to re-evaluate its decision, Levy and her parents took the case to a federal district court and won. The school district appealed the decision all the way to the Supreme Court, arguing it needed to regulate off-campus speech to keep students safe from cyberbullying.