The Indiana Court of Appeals recently ruled that a minor student’s expletive-laden criticism of her school principal on a MySpace page was protected political speech under the First Amendment. The student, identified only as A.B., posted the comments regarding the school’s policy on body piercings, which prompted the state to file a delinquency petition.

The state alleged that the comments would amount to harassment, identity theft, and identity deception if posted by an adult. The Putnam Circuit Court judge held the comments were obscene, found A.B. to be delinquent, and sentenced her to 9 months of probation. On appeal, A.B. argued the comments were protected political speech since they dealt with school policy. The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the lower court ruling, finding it to be protected free speech under the First Amendment.

How far do you think this will go? Will students now be allowed to respond with profanities when teachers try to enforce other policies, such as not talking in class, arriving on time, and other policies?