Swear words in off-campus group chats have caused a lot of commotion lately. The most recent Supreme Court decision on student speech is centered around the use of the word “fuck" in an off-campus group snapchat, similar to yours (read more about the Mahanoy case here). The case discusses factors that schools should consider when it comes to censoring off-campus speech.

First, a student’s off-campus speech will generally be the responsibility of that student’s parents. So, maybe try not to swear if doing so will cause a problem in your home. Although the school may censor speech outside of school property, the school’s ability to censor is much more limited. If the speech caused a substantial disruption at school, was created on school grounds, or has a substantial connection to the school (if the school’s name is part of the post), there is a higher chance of the school being able to do something about it.

Schools have an interest in protecting unpopular ideas because schools are tasked with fostering an environment that encourages students to speak freely and share their ideas. Using vulgar language in school may get you into trouble, but using such words off-campus makes it a lot harder for schools to punish you.

Keep in mind, student athletes are sometimes held to a higher standard. Some schools have students sign a waiver that requires them to behave kindly and achieve good grades in order to participate. If your snapchat did not make a connection to your school and did not cause a substantial disruption to the team or in the classroom, your school will likely not censor you. You just want to make sure that if you agree to demonstrate good behavior outside of the field/court you play on, you commit to upholding that higher standard.

What is Lewd and Vulgar Language?

A lot of language can be considered lewd and vulgar. However, lewd and vulgar language is usually offensive speech such as swear words, sexual innuendos, or other language that could be considered inappropriate. Using the word “fuck” would fall into this category of speech.

When students are at school, schools have a lot of power to punish students for this type of speech because the school has an interest in teaching students socially appropriate behavior and preventing disruption at school. However, when students are off-campus, the fact that language is just lewd, vulgar, or offensive is not enough for the school to punish the student. There must be something more.

Ultimately, public schools have the ability to regulate off-campus student speech, but only in certain situations. More specifically, a public school may regulate student off-campus speech when it involves bullying, harassment, and online-based learning. You know the drill, the school may punish a student who engaged in speech (on or off-campus) that causes a foreseeable risk of “material and substantial disruption” to the school environment or is threatening to students or the learning environment.

Ultimately, the school likely will not be able to censor you for dropping the f-bomb on Snapchat. But, a private online conversation between classmates may not always stay private. So, be careful with what you send.