Brothers Sue Lee’s Summit District Over Suspension

LEES SUMMIT, Mo. Is a high school blog free speech? Lees Summit North High School decided no when it suspended twin brothers in December for six months. Now, the boys parents, Brian and Linda Wilson, are suing the Lees Summit School District on behalf of their sons to get the boys reinstated immediately.

In their Federal Lawsuit the Wilson boys admit posting a blog that called a fellow female student a derogatory term. Another unidentified student used racist and vulgar terms in a posting that was made without the twins permission. The two students, both juniors, claim they shouldnt be held responsible for what someone else posted. They also believe what they wrote on a home computer during after-school hours is protected free speech.

In their lawsuit, the Wilson boys claims to receive A and B grades and are both active in the school marching band. Now they say their hopes for College band scholarships are in jeopardy if they arent reinstated immediately.

School officials are able to censor private student speech but if its off-campus its pretty much protected broadly by the First Amendment protections, said Professor Daniel Weddle with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School

A Federal Judge will listen to arguments by attorneys for the Wilson family on Monday March 19th. Attorneys for the Lees Summit School District will go before the same judge next Wednesday.

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Brothers Sue Lee’s Summit District Over Suspension