Justices to Hear Student Free-Speech Case

‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ banner could be basis for a landmark ruling.

A case on student freedom of speech that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide in its current term is potentially far-reaching, not least because it is the court’s first foray into this area of school law in the Internet era.

In accepting the appeal by the Juneau, Alaska, school district, the justices will decide whether a principal violated the First Amendment rights of a student who displayed a pro-marijuana banner at a school-sponsored parade across the street from the student’s high school. The court could clarify whether public school officials may bar students from displaying messages promoting the use of illegal substances, including at school-supervised events away from campus.

And while the speech at issue in Morse v. Frederick (Case No. 06-278) was not itself high-tech, the court’s eventual decision may also bear on school administrators’ authority to regulate other off-campus speech, such as by...