Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20-255_g3bi.pdf
Page Number: 33

Cite as:  594 U. S. ____ (2021) 

19 

ALITO, J., concurring 

any school activity.  And B. L.’s school does not claim that 
it possesses or makes any effort to exercise the authority to
regulate the vocabulary and gestures of all its students 24
hours a day and 365 days a year.

There  are  more  than  90,000  public  school  principals  in 
this  country27  and  more  than  13,000  separate  school  dis-
tricts.28  The overwhelming majority of school administra-
tors,  teachers,  and  coaches  are  men  and  women  who  are 
deeply dedicated to the best interests of their students, but 
it is predictable that there will be occasions when some will
get carried away, as did the school officials in the case at
hand.  If today’s decision teaches any lesson, it must be that 
the regulation of many types of off-premises student speech 
raises serious First Amendment concerns, and school offi-
cials  should  proceed  cautiously  before  venturing  into  this
territory. 

—————— 

27 See NCES, School Principals, Table 212.08: Number and Percentage 
Distribution in Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Schools,
Selected  Years  1993–1994  Through  2017–2018,  https://nces.ed.gov/
programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_212.08.asp?current=yes. 

28 See NCES, Overview of Schools and School Districts, Table 214.10: 
Number  of  Public  School  Districts  and  Public  and  Private  Elementary
and Secondary Schools, Selected Years 1869–1870 Through 2018–2019, 
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d20/tables/dt20_214.10.asp.