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New Jersey
Related: About this forumACLU: (NJ) Students suspended for posting gun photos on Snapchat file free-speech suit
https://www.aclu.org/news/students-suspended-posting-gun-photos-snapchat-file-free-speech-suitLacey Township High School unconstitutionally punished students for posts made off-campus and outside of school hours, says ACLU-NJ suit
April 10, 2019
The ACLU-NJ and the law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C., filed a lawsuit today on behalf of two students whose First Amendment rights were violated after they were suspended for posting photos of firearms to social media made entirely outside of a school context.
When I was pulled into the principals office for something I shared with my friends privately, outside of school, over a weekend, it felt like I had no place where I could truly speak freely, said H.S., one of the students whose Snapchat post precipitated the schools actions, whose name is being withheld because he was a minor at the time of the suspension.
Im filing this suit so that no one at my high school in the future has to feel like the First Amendment wasnt meant to include them, said Cody Conroy, the other student who was suspended for the Snapchat messages.
The Lacey Township School District overstepped its constitutional boundaries by suspending Cody Conroy and H.S., both seniors at the time, for their photos of legally owned guns resting on a table. One of the posts had no caption and the other had tongue-in-cheek text: hot stuff and If theres ever a zombie apocalypse, you know where to go....
April 10, 2019
The ACLU-NJ and the law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C., filed a lawsuit today on behalf of two students whose First Amendment rights were violated after they were suspended for posting photos of firearms to social media made entirely outside of a school context.
When I was pulled into the principals office for something I shared with my friends privately, outside of school, over a weekend, it felt like I had no place where I could truly speak freely, said H.S., one of the students whose Snapchat post precipitated the schools actions, whose name is being withheld because he was a minor at the time of the suspension.
Im filing this suit so that no one at my high school in the future has to feel like the First Amendment wasnt meant to include them, said Cody Conroy, the other student who was suspended for the Snapchat messages.
The Lacey Township School District overstepped its constitutional boundaries by suspending Cody Conroy and H.S., both seniors at the time, for their photos of legally owned guns resting on a table. One of the posts had no caption and the other had tongue-in-cheek text: hot stuff and If theres ever a zombie apocalypse, you know where to go....
Guess the Lacey District's entirely-self-caused-by-mindless-control-freakery future payout won't help with the following:
https://www.app.com/story/news/education/2019/03/19/lacey-schools-plan-layoff-staff-special-ed-close-budget-hole/3201274002/
Lacey schools may lay off special education staff to close budget hole
LACEY - School employees who work with special needs children are facing layoffs and elimination of their benefits as the Lacey Board of Education plans to fill a budget hole created by declining state aid.
School officials issued the district's paraprofessional staff, who assist students with various special needs, "reduction in force" notices earlier this month.
School board President Shawn J. Giordano estimated that about 70 to 80 paraprofessionals currently work in the district, and most of them receive full-time hours and benefits. However, a new plan would fire and rehire only about 35 to 45 percent of them as full-time staff, he said...
LACEY - School employees who work with special needs children are facing layoffs and elimination of their benefits as the Lacey Board of Education plans to fill a budget hole created by declining state aid.
School officials issued the district's paraprofessional staff, who assist students with various special needs, "reduction in force" notices earlier this month.
School board President Shawn J. Giordano estimated that about 70 to 80 paraprofessionals currently work in the district, and most of them receive full-time hours and benefits. However, a new plan would fire and rehire only about 35 to 45 percent of them as full-time staff, he said...
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ACLU: (NJ) Students suspended for posting gun photos on Snapchat file free-speech suit (Original Post)
friendly_iconoclast
Apr 2019
OP
PBC_Democrat
(403 posts)1. How does a free speech issue relate to a budget shortfall?
If the school district can suspend for this, they can suspend for anything.
There will be an out of court settlement that will impact even more dedicated education professionals
3Hotdogs
(13,394 posts)2. I believe it was a sarcastic attempt at humor.
The idea being that the district is facing financial hardship. A monetary award to the plaintiffs will have to come from increased insurance premium. Thus increasing the district's financial problems.