Can school officials restrict online expression because it contains offensive language?
They cannot under the Tinker standard. One federal district court judge in 1998 wrote in his opinion: “Disliking or being upset by the content of a student’s speech is not an acceptable justification for limiting student speech under Tinker.” At least one court has applied the Fraser standard to student Internet speech that is considered on-campus expression. Under the Supreme Court’s 1986 decision Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, school officials have the authority to regulate on-campus student speech that is vulgar, lewd or plainly offensive. Most courts, so far, have stated that school officials cannot satisfy the Constitution by banning expression simply because they find it offensive.
