Tennessee School That Suspended Student Over Memes Reverses Decision As First Amendment Lawsuit Progresses

In a win for personal freedom in the realm of online expression, a Tennessee high-school student whose satirical memes about his principal led to his suspension, will have those sanctions lifted for the duration of a lawsuit.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the organization advocating for free speech and intellectual freedom rights filed the suit. The Tullahoma High School rising senior, known as “I.P.” in court documents, was backed by FIRE in alleging that the school’s suspension, triggered by off-campus online content, constituted a violation of the First Amendment.

“This case is about a thin-skinned high school principal defying the First Amendment and suspending a student for lampooning the principal on the student’s Instagram page even though the posts caused no disruption at school,” the opening of the complaint reads.