Tennessee School That Suspended Student Over Memes Reverses Decision As First Amendment Lawsuit Progresses

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In a win for personal freedom in the realm of online expression, a Tennessee high-school student whose satirical memes about his principal led to his suspension, will have those sanctions lifted for the duration of a lawsuit. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the organization advocating for free speech and intellectual freedom rights filed the suit. The Tullahoma High School rising senior, known as “I.P.” in court documents, was backed by FIRE in alleging that the school’s suspension, triggered by off-campus online content, constituted a violation of the First Amendment. “This case is about a thin-skinned high school principal defying the First Amendment and suspending a student for lampooning the principal on the student’s Instagram page even though the posts caused no disruption at school,” the opening of the complaint reads. The same lawsuit also compelled Tullahoma High to revise its handbook policies, thereby ending the prohibition on “embarrassing” social media images and posts considered to be “unbecoming of a Wildcat,” which is the school’s mascot. FIRE attorney Conor Fitzpatrick stated, “We’re glad that the school has taken these corrective actions, but the fight isn’t over,” and went on to vow continued fights for the student’s constitutional rights, including the removal of the current suspension and the termination of the nebulous policies. The “offensive” memes featured Principal Jason Quick in various scenarios, including an image with a box of vegetables, another transformed…Tennessee School That Suspended Student Over Memes Reverses Decision As First Amendment Lawsuit Progresses