Mom of girl expelled over Facebook comments speaks out

GRIFFITH, Ind. (WISH) - About 900 million people use Facebook, but more and more how we use it is getting us in trouble at work or school.

24-Hour News 8 reporter Daniel Miller investigated a lawsuit involving three Indiana eighth-graders who were expelled from school over what they said on the social networking site.

Griffith Public Shools said what the students posted on Facebook violated a provision of their school handbook. But the American Civil Liberties Union said the students’ comments are protected by their First Amendment right to free speech.

"Every individual case has its own rub on it," said Gavin Rose, attorney with the ACLU of Indiana.

The students, the ACLU said, made the controversial comments on Facebook after school, on their personal electronic devices. The school said the comments were threats to harm someone else at school. Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana filed suit against Griffith Public Schools.

"This was three girls joking around,” Rose said. “If you're serious about committing an act of violence, you do not follow something with LOL, you do not follow it with an emoticon smiley face. This is teenagers been teenagers. No reasonable person looking at this conversation would think that any of the girls was going to actually act on that."

When Griffith Schools learned of the posts, the girls were suspended from school.

"Not just suspended for 10 days,” Rose said. “They were ultimately expelled for the entire second half of their eight-grade year and are not allowed back until August."

One of the girls' mothers spoke Wednesday to 24-Hour News 8 about the incident.

"She's an A/B Honor Roll student, she's never been in trouble at school, and when I got the call that they wanted me to pick her up right this minute,” recalled Holly DeYoung. “And basically they are trying to tell me she's a threat to the school, along with the other two girls. I mean, I was shocked."

Rose said the disciplinary response was inappropriate in this situation.

"There's no doubt that schools have significant, mind-blowing interest in ensuring the safety of their students and teachers, but whatever those look like, this is not that."

Rose said free speech rights under the First Amendment, even when it's speech we don't like or agree with, must still be protected. Griffith Public Schools has 21 days to respond to the lawsuit.

The plantiffs want recognition that their First Amendment rights have been violated. They also want the suspension removed from their daughters’ school records.