But It All Happened Online—Where Do We Stand as a School?

Abstract

This case was developed as part of a school law course in an educational leadership preparation program and focuses on a school's legal right to discipline a student for creating and posting two offensive Web sites: One was generated during instructional time, and the other was completed off-site during noninstructional time. The second Web site may have compelled another student to attempt suicide and definitely embarrassed a teacher and the school's administration. The case addresses an important legal issue administrators must understand if they are to make appropriate and legally justified decisions in an era in which students are increasingly capable Web designers. In this case, a secondary teacher and one of her students were objects of ridicule in a posted Web site created in school by another student. Both students were 16-year-old sophomores. When the school's assistant principalwas made aware of the Web site, the offending student received a 2-day suspension and was warned never to use school technology to deride teachers or students again. All parties accepted this decision, save for the offending student, who proceeded to post a similar Web site from home. This second, more vitriolic Web site, humiliated not only the student and teacher targeted in the original Web site but the administration as well. This site had a profound effect on the student depicted on it, who attempted suicide. As a result of these actions, the school's principal initiated due process to expel the offending student. This case is a fictionalized version of two real cases. All names of students, teachers, administrators and schools are pseudonyms. Likewise, dialogue presented in this case is presented to facilitate the reader's understanding of legal issues and is not derived from actual evidence or proceedings.