Student Suspended For Website Sues

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August 28, 1998 (2:07 PM EDT)

By John Borland,

A Missouri student suspended for posting a website critical of his school is suing to have the action reversed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court Thursday asking that Brandon Buessink's suspension be wiped from his file, and that he be allowed to make up the lost time. The school's action violated Buessink's First Amendment free-speech rights, the civil-liberties group said.

"The law is clear that schools cannot interfere with what students say on their own time outside of school," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU of eastern Missouri. "This includes the Internet."

Buessink's trouble began last February, when he and his sister posted a website criticizing teachers and administrators at Woodland High School in the town of Marble Hill, Mo.

The page was short on detail, but long on profanity directed at individual administrators, teachers, and school policies. Buessink also linked his page to the school's website.

School administrators suspended Buessink for 10 days. Under the school's policy, he was not able to make up the work missed during that period, and failed several classes. Because he lacks credits from that semester, Buessink will not graduate with the rest of his class next year unless the suspension is erased from his record.

In justifying the suspension, the school criticized Buessink for linking his page to the school's site, for using profanity and slanderous language about school officials, and for inappropriate computer use.

But according to the ACLU, the school's action ignored case law giving students the right to criticize their institutions on their own time, as long as they do not disrupt school activities. Publications such as underground student newspapers have been protected by courts, though administrators can limit their distribution in schools.

School officials do not have jurisdiction over personal websites, Jacobs said. "It's a question for his parents whether it was an inappropriate use of their computers," she said.

Officials at Woodland High School were not available for comment. School attorneys have defended the actions as legal and appropriate in earlier reports.

The case follows similar lawsuits in other school districts around the country. Most recently, an Ohio student won damages of $30,000 after being suspended for three days for posting a site criticizing a teacher.

Buessink's first hearing is set for Oct. 5.