Statement on Supreme Court’s Ruling in Mahanoy v. B.L.
June 23, 2021
GLAD issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Mahanoy v. B.L.:
“We’re pleased to see the Court take a thoughtful and nuanced approach to the complex issue of student speech,” said Patience Crozier, GLAD Senior Staff Attorney. “The Court recognized schools can have a need to regulate off-campus speech in various contexts, including bullying that contributes to a hostile school environment and harms other students. At the same time, today’s decision strongly reminds schools that they have no right to over-police out-of-school speech by students.”
GLAD joined an amicus brief filed in Mahanoy v. B.L. by the National Women’s Law Center and Lambda Legal. Noting potential repercussions in this case for students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including LGBTQ students and students of color, who experience disproportionate levels of both harassment and school discipline, the brief urged the Court to take a nuanced approach allowing schools to address bullying without granting an overly broad authority to punish off-campus speech.