After criticism of her testimony before Congress on antisemitism on college campuses, the President of the University of Pennsylvania, Liz Magill, resigned. And, at Pomona College, authorities arrested a professor who...more
On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court vacated the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ judgment in a case challenging Virginia Tech’s bias intervention and response team policy, instructing the court to dismiss the case as moot. ...more
Our Education Team parses a pair of First Amendment cases that directly affect colleges’ and universities’ free speech policies for employees and students....more
Yes, we are still talking about this. Despite facing what feels like a rising tide of political discourse in our communities for years, we continue to hear concerns about how schools can balance fostering academic freedom,...more
College campuses have traditionally been considered bastions of free speech, where students can express their views and engage in robust discussions without fear of censorship or retaliation....more
THE SUPREME COURT’S 2021 DECISION IN MAHANOY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT V. B.L. The Sixth Circuit’s first ruling on a First Amendment student speech issue since a landmark Supreme Court case in 2021 has arrived, marking the...more
A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision held that school officials did not violate students’ First Amendment rights when disciplining them for off-campus social media posts that amounted to severe harassment...more
As anticipated, the Ninth Circuit has waded back into the choppy waters of student online and off-campus speech following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2021 ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L and found that a...more
In re Appeal of G.S., 269 A.3d 718, 722 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2022), appeal denied, 61 MAL 2022, 2022 WL 2447538 (Pa. July 6, 2022) (The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined that the expulsion of a student for a social media...more
In J.S. by M.S. v. Manheim Township School District, 263 A.3d 295 (Pa. 2021), Pennsylvania’s highest court took a step toward clarifying the sticky issue of school districts’ ability to discipline students for off-campus...more
Free speech on campus—and off—has become a flashpoint for U.S. colleges and universities. Students’ ability to post their comments and concerns online, to forward messages to others for whom they may not have been intended,...more
Many students are generally familiar with the First Amendment of the Constitution, but they often overlook that it only confers the right “to petition the Government for a redress of such grievances.” As a result, only...more
Mahanoy Area Sch. Dist. v. B. L. by and through Levy, 141 S. Ct. 2038 (2021). The United States Supreme Court holds that while schools can sometimes regulate student speech that takes place off-campus, the school district...more
The September 1, 2020 Trending Law Blog post discussed how the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 964 F.3d 170 (2020), upheld a public school student’s First...more
Welcome to Three Point Shot, a newsletter brought to you by the Sports Law Group at Proskauer. Three Point Shot brings you the latest in sports law-related news and provides you with links to related materials. ...more
On June 23, 2020, in an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Mahanoy Area School District’s decision to suspend a student from the cheerleading team for posting vulgar language and gestures on social media (outside...more
Can our kids still curse about the misery of high school? The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a school district violated a teenager’s First Amendment rights when school administrators suspended the teenager, B.L.,...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
[co-authors: Patrick Murray, Risa Rahman, and Jae Bandeh] The PTAB Strategies and Insights newsletter provides timely updates and insights into how best to handle proceedings at the USPTO. It is designed to increase return...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Pennsylvania school district went too far when it suspended a student from participation in the school’s cheerleading squad based on “vulgar” comments made about the coach on the...more
On June 23, 2021, in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the United States Supreme Court ruled a Pennsylvania school district violated the First Amendment rights of a cheerleader by disciplining her for her profanity-laden...more
In the colorfully known “cursing cheerleader” case, the U.S. Supreme Court found a student’s school violated her First Amendment rights. In an 8-1 decision authored by Justice Breyer and decided Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the...more
On June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., No. 20-255 (2021), holding that a student’s off-campus social media posts critical of her school...more
The U.S. Supreme Court left many unanswered questions in its recent decision about the power of schools to punish a student’s off-color, off-campus speech. Although the justices ruled in favor of the student, they left the...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated ruling in Mahanoy Area School District v. B. L., No. 20-255, (U.S. June 23, 2021), upholding students' free speech rights for the first time since 1969. In an...more