“Though disturbing, the record indicates that the profile was so outrageous that no one took its content seriously,” the 3rd U.S. Circuit majority wrote June 13, overturning its own prior ruling. “[The girl] testified that she intended the profile to be a joke between herself and her friends.”
In the other case, Hickory High School senior Justin Layshock created a parody that said his principal smoked marijuana and kept beer behind his desk. The Hermitage School District said it substantially disrupted school operations and suspended him, but the suspension was overturned by a district judge, the appeals panel, and now the full 3rd Circuit.
In a rare move, the full court had heard oral arguments last year after separate three-judge panels issued conflicting rulings in the twin cases.
Such disparities are common around the country as school districts wrestle with how to address online behavior that can range from pranks to threats to cyber bullying. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit has upheld school discipline in two similar cases, but neither has reached the Supreme Court.
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