Littleton High School Junior Bryan Lopez used his home computer to post satirical commentary about his school on a password-protected internet page on MySpace.com. After the commentary was copied, re-posted by others, and eventually brought to school, the principal suspended Mr. Lopez for 5 days for his off-campus expression. The superintendent of schools then extended the suspension an additional 10 days while administrators considered whether to initiate expulsion proceedings. After Mr. Lopez had missed six days of school, ACLU attorneys became involved and informed school district officials that a federal court lawsuit would be filed on the next business day. The suit proved unnecessary, as the school district then agreed to revoke the suspension, expunge Mr. Lopez’s record, and allow him to return to school.
ACLU news release:
- "After ACLU intervention, high school student suspended for off-campus internet posting is back in school," ACLU News Release, February 21, 2006
Media:
-
“Student suspended over myspace.com posting,” 9 News, February 18, 2006
-
“ACLU to defend suspended student,” The Denver Post, February 18, 2006
-
“Threat of ACLU suit puts Web poster back in school,” The Denver Post, February 21, 2006
ACLU case number
2006-01