April 27, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.orgEighth
Grade Girl Who Created Satiric MySpace.com Profile Is Reinstated
HOLLAND, OH
-- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today applauded a decision by the
Springfield School Board to reinstate eighth-grade student Jessica Schoch.
Schoch was not allowed to attend school or participate in extracurricular
activities after school officials discovered a MySpace.com profile that parodied
a school administrator.
“We are pleased the school board ultimately
recognized that defending a lawsuit over its actions would have been
time-consuming, costly to taxpayers and most importantly -- unsuccessful,” said
ACLU of Ohio cooperating attorney Arnold Gottlieb.
The ACLU of Ohio
represented Schoch at a meeting of the Springfield School Board meeting last
night, arguing that the profile was free speech and that it was an issue for her
parents rather than the school because she created the profile at home on her
own computer. Myspace.com is an online social networking site used mostly by
teenagers and young adults.
Cases involving online journals,
profiles and other Web sites have become more common as use of the Internet has
evolved. Various courts have ruled that students may write about their school or
those who work at their school as long as it is not done with school equipment
or during class hours.
“Any reasonable person would see that this
was merely a joke gone awry. Jessica’s parents have responded to the situation
and have disciplined her and curtailed her internet use,” added Gottlieb. “Many
cases involving students authoring online sites parodying or complaining about
school officials have sprung up around the country. We hope this is a clear
signal that schools may not punish students for exercising their free speech
rights outside of the school on their own time.”
