Student sues to slam teacher on Facebook

High school is a strange time of life. You're old enough to recognize the limitations authorities place upon you, but not old enough to challenge them in the legal arena. For example, the courts have ruled that student's lockers can be searched without student consent or a warrant. But what about comments made off school grounds, on Facebook? Do teens have a right to privacy and to free speech? Or can they be punished for inappropriate comments online? The courts are about to rule, thanks to a lawsuit brought by one high school honor's student.

A South Florida teenager who sued her former principal after she was suspended for creating a Facebook page criticizing a teacher can proceed with her lawsuit, a federal judge has ruled.

The student, Katherine Evans, is seeking to have her suspension expunged from her disciplinary record. School officials suspended her for three days, saying she had been “cyberbullying” the teacher, Sarah Phelps. Ms. Evans is also seeking a “nominal fee” for what she argues was a violation of her First Amendment rights, her lawyers said, and payment of her legal fees.

What do Mod-Bloggers think? Where does the line belong in this instance?

Schools Overreact To Student's Counter Strike Level

A high school senior created a map of his high school for play in the popular first person shooter game, Counter-Strike. For that reason, he was sent to an alternative school. The original article mentioned on Slashdot is now "Slashdotted", but supposedly the only "weapon" police found was a hammer. School officials are completely overreacting to this. While some of the school shooters have been found to have played first person shooters, not all people who play first person shooters end up becoming school shooters. If the school was really worried, a psychological evaluation should have been performed and then a decision made from there.