Quote:
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Among the factors that could weigh in the decision, Frederick was standing on public property, not school grounds when he displayed the banner. The school said students were allowed to leave class to see the torch pass by, making the event school-sanctioned. Frederick, however, never made it to school that day before the event.
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This makes the school's case moot in my opinion. He was across the street and not present on the day's role, and therefore was simply another citizen making a statement, albeit a pretty stupid one. The principal had no right to suspend, though I'm betting she didn't know at the time that he hadn't shown up for classes that day and was therefore not participating in the school function. If I were ruling on the case, I would say that his rights were violated and that the suspension should have been reversed, but that the principal and school are not liable for damages as they made a decision based on facts known to the principal at that moment. I would also rule that a school's ability to act on students' actions is limited
only to those actions occurring on school grounds or during school
run, not simply school
sanctioned, events.