This past week, the 6th Circuit released a ruling affirming a districts court holding that a school did not violate a student’s 1st Amendment Rights when they suspended them for comments made off-campus on a personal Instagram account. Kutchinski v. Freeland Community School District, 6th Circuit 2023.

The Landmark Tinker case has guided whether a school can punish a student for speech, but that soon may change. Over the past decade, the use of social media has exploded and students are often choosing social media as their mode of expression. When posts are reported, school officials struggle to enforce rules while not limiting the 1st Amendment rights of students.