No freedom to speak

Michigan high schooler David Stout wants his fellow students to learn to cope with different beliefs and opinions—if administrators will let them.

The Plainwell High School junior’s parents, David and Colleen Stout, filed a lawsuit against multiple school officials on Jan. 27. The school suspended the band section leader and football player for three days in late October over off-campus private texts and on-campus private hallway conversations he had with other students in the spring and fall of 2021.

According to the complaint, Stout’s texts and conversations were about his Christian beliefs on homosexuality. School officials chastised Stout for expressing beliefs that might offend other students or make them feel unsafe. They also admonished him for not acting more quickly to squelch or report inappropriate jokes made by other band members. On multiple occasions, administrators told Stout he must stop all religious conversations with other students, report students who say offensive things, and stop posting religious comments on social media, the lawsuit claims.

School officials ultimately cited Stout for violating the school’s policy on bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment and suspended him from all school activities, including football practice.

The lawsuit turns the tables, charging school officials with violating the bullying policy in disciplining Stout. David Kallman, an attorney with Lansing-based Great Lakes Justice Center who represents Stout, said schools have a legitimate interest in student speech, whether it occurs on or off campus. But their ability to curb unwanted speech is limited to situations where it causes a disruption at school—like fights, student walkouts, threats, or serious bullying. “Nothing of that kind happened here,” Kallman said.

That focus on disruption lines up with two Supreme Court cases addressing students’ free speech rights. In 1969’s Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the court ruled schools cannot punish students for on-campus speech unless it “materially and substantially” disrupts the school day or infringes on the rights of others.

In last year’s Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., a nearly unanimous court upheld a high-school cheerleader’s right to off-campus online speech—even a vulgar Snapchat selfie that caused a stir among students and was critical of the high school and its cheerleading program.

But Kallman said the issues ran deeper than just free speech. “What kind of a generation have we raised that they feel they have to be snitches over perfectly legal and legitimate constitutional discussions?” he said, referring to students’ reporting of private conversations.

Stout is concerned about how the suspension will affect his otherwise good school record and prospects for a football scholarship, according to Kallman. But he said the defensive back football player has no regrets about filing the lawsuit. “He seems to be holding up to it very well,” he said. “He was happy to stand up for his rights.”

Plainwell High school officials declined to respond to questions, citing the pending litigation.