Bell v. Itawamba County School Board: Testing the Limits of First Amendment Protection of Off-Campus Student Speech

Abstract

Eighteen-year-old high school senior and aspiring rapper Taylor Bell heard from female classmates that two adult coaches at their high school were sexually harassing them. Bell recorded a rap song off campus criticizing and arguably threatening harm to the coaches. When the high school administrators found out, they suspended Bell. Bell subsequently filed suit, alleging a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech. These events and the subsequent years of civil litigation surrounding them highlight the murky state of student speech law. The reigning “substantial disruption” standard derived from Tinker v. Des Moines Community School District is too vague and outdated to protect either students or administrators when it comes to off-campus speech. Additionally, it remains uncertain as to if and when schools can punish student speech that originates off campus.This Note highlights the lack of consensus among courts dealing with student speech issues, and urges adoption of the standard proposed by Judge E. Grady Jolly of the Fifth Circuit in his concurring opinion in Bell. In order to be effective, however, the Jolly standard must be clarified with regards to what constitutes an “actual threat.” This Note further argues the importance of clarifying these standards in light of the ubiquity of social media and current alarming levels of school violence.