Free-Internet-Speech Appeal Setback

Lewis Mills (Burlington) High School senior Avery Doninger won’t speak at graduation this month. A federal appeals court has upheld a district court ruling that the school administration did not unconstitutionally bar her from holding class office “after she posted a vulgar and misleading message about the supposed cancellation of an upcoming school event on an independently operated, publicly accessible web log (or “blog”).

The decision affects only a plea to let Doninger speak as a class officer at graduation, and does not preclude further litigation on whether school officials over-reached.

“We are deeply disappointed with the appeals court decision,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut. “The court’s decision to uphold the punishment of Doninger for writing a blog entry on a matter of public concern, using her home computer, six hours after the end of the school day, sends the wrong message to all young people, the future custodians of our Constitution.

“If we expect our Constitution to continue to guarantee our nation’s freedom – especially free speech,” Schneider added, “then we must demand that our public schools not only teach the Constitution but also live by its principles."