Official government business (see definition above), whether stored on a personal device or government device, is subject to TPRA. However, personal messages, even if on a government email account are not subject to public records request. So, what are districts to do with mixed messages. In short, the entity can redact the personal communications and produce that which is “concerning government business”.

Government transparency is essential for a strong democracy. To ensure such transparency, federal and state governments have passed legislation to provide citizens the right to copy or inspect records. Over the next month we will look at the laws governing open records in Tennessee.

In this article, we are going to review how different courts across the country have applied that guidance to interrogations by SROs or outside law enforcement in a school setting. You will see that the outcome of each case shows the diversity of how the 5th Amendment is applied to students.

School officials have always served as parents (loco parentis) and in most cases can provide consent for law enforcement to speak to students. This may sound surprising as most parents, even educators, would not allow law enforcement to speak to their children without them being present.

There is no doubt that districts will increasingly deal with LGBTQ issues in the future. Following the Bostock ruling, schools were forced to look the impact of facilities, bathrooms in particular.

C1.G and several friends were at a thrift store on Friday 13th, 2019. They placed wigs and hats on, one of which resembled a foreign WWII military hat. C.G. posted the picture to Snapchat stating “Me and the boy’s bout to exterminate the Jews”. While C.G. removed the post an hour later and posted an apology the next day, a parent had taken a screenshot and reported it to the school.

Districts and schools can face harsh criticism from parents, students and community members. Often times such comments can go viral causing conflict within the school or the community. As a result, officials often make the mistake of selectively deleting comments or blocking users from their official sites.

Amidst all the drama surrounding the case of the praying coach – Kennedy v. Bremerton School District – was an important free-speech question: when does a public employee engage in protected personal expression versus unprotected government speech?

In the persistent battle over issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, public schools are frequently the battlegrounds. Tennessee public schools are no exception, and school officials have wrestled for years with such issues, particularly as they relate to transgender students. Conflicting legal authority now creates even more uncertainly over what to do in those typically difficult situations.

Public school officials generally cannot punish students for off-campus social media posts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case involving a student punished for venting her frustration on Snapchat for not making the varsity cheerleading squad.