Free Speech Controversy After Upper Darby HS Junior Suspended

by KYW's Kim Glovas

An Upper Darby High School student's comments on a personal web site has led to a First Amendment controversy there.

Hazel Scantling, 16, was suspended for two days after posting her opinions about a teacher and three fellow students on her myspace.com web site.

Even her father admits the language used by his daughter, a junior, was "vulgar."

But after the ACLU went to bat for the girl, her suspension was suspended.  She is being allowed to return to school while the matter is under review by the school's attorney.

William Scantling was notified last Friday that his daughter would be suspended on Monday and Tuesday for writing her opinions about a teacher and three students on myspace.com -- a posting which included curse words and derogatory remarks.

Scantling met with school officials :

"I continually asked the school officials was anyone threatened, because if anyone were threatened, I would expect the Upper Darby police department to come to my house and arrest my daughter.  And I would  have gladly turned her over."

But, he says, there were no threats:

"I thought it was rather gross, and I knew I'd  have to discuss the matter with my daughter to find out what  was she thinking to write such things.   However, I saw at no time anything regarding threats to any individual.  And so I asked, 'When did Upper Darby High School become the thought police?' "

Mary Catherine Roper of the American Civil Liberties Union says in this case, the school is wrong:

"We are in fact seeing many, many cases in which schools are trying to discipline students for what they write at home on their own time and what they post on myspace or on different Internet websites. And it's just inappropriate. This is not conduct in the school, it is not subject to school discipline. This is a public forum."

Burton Caine is a constitutional law professor at Temple University's law school:

"She's expressing a point of view and the school simply doesn't like that point of view. So even on those school cases which give a lot of deference to school authorities, I think they would not give deference here.  And I think her rights were violated."

Caine is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union. 

The girl wrote the web entry from her home computer.  Hazel Scantling' father says he plans to legally challenge the school "vigorously." The ACLU contacted the school, which agreed to let Hazel return to school while the matter is under review.