Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20-255_g3bi.pdf
Page Number: 30.0

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MAHANOY AREA SCHOOL DIST. v. B. L. 

ALITO, J., concurring 

claimed that their duties demand broader authority.21 

Another common category involves speech that criticizes 
or  derides  school  administrators,  teachers,  or  other  staff 
members.22  Schools may assert that parents who send their 
children to a public school implicitly authorize the school to
demand that the child exhibit the respect that is required
for orderly and effective instruction, but parents surely do 
not relinquish their children’s ability to complain in an ap-
propriate  manner  about  wrongdoing,  dereliction,  or  even 
plain  incompetence.    See  Brief  for  College  Athlete  Advo-
cates as Amicus Curiae 12–21; Brief for Student Press Law 
Center et al. as Amici Curiae 10–11, 17–20, 30. 

Perhaps the most difficult category involves criticism or 

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21 See,  e.g.,  McNeil v. Sherwood  School Dist.  88J,  918  F. 3d  700,  704 
(CA9 2019) (per curiam) (student created a “hit list” of students and drew 
graphic images of violence); Wynar v. Douglas County School Dist., 728 
F. 3d  1062,  1065–1066  (CA9  2013)  (student  spoke  about  committing  a 
school shooting); Wisniewski v. Board of Ed., 494 F. 3d 34, 36 (CA2 2007) 
(student sent a message depicting a pistol firing a bullet at his English
teacher’s head); Porter v. Ascension Parish School Bd., 393 F. 3d 608, 611 
(CA5 2004) (student drew a picture showing his school under attack by
a gasoline tanker, missile launcher, helicopter, and armed individuals); 
Doe v. Pulaski County Special School Dist., 306 F. 3d 616, 619 (CA8 2002)
(en banc) (student drafted letters expressing a desire to molest, rape, and
murder  his  ex-girlfriend);  but  see  Conroy  v.  Lacey  Twp.  School  Dist., 
2020  WL  528896,  *1  (D  NJ,  Jan.  31,  2020)  (two  high  school  students 
posted photos on Snapchat showing them with legally purchased guns at
a  shooting  range  on  a  Saturday,  which  another  student  claimed  made 
him “ ‘nervous to come to school’ ”); see also Conroy v. Lacey Twp. School 
Dist.,  No.  3:19–cv–09452  (D  NJ,  Aug.  25,  2020)  (order  dismissing  case 
with  prejudice  after  settlement).  The  cases  cited  in  this  footnote  and 
footnotes 22–23 are listed to show types of claims addressed by the lower 
courts.  I do not express any view about the correctness of the decisions. 
22 See, e.g., Doninger v. Niehoff, 527 F. 3d 41, 45 (CA2 2008) (member
of  student  council  posted  a  message  on  her  personal  blog  complaining 
about the administration and encouraging readers to call or e-mail the 
school to complain); Evans v. Bayer, 684 F. Supp. 2d 1365, 1367 (SD Fla.
2010) (student created a Facebook group “for students to voice their dis-
like” of their teacher).