Editor’s note: The authors were involved in the case B.H. v. Easton Area School District.
In B.H. v. Easton Area School District, 725 F.3d 293 (3d Cir. 2013), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided that, absent disruption, public school principals may not restrict “plausibly political” student speech or speech with a social message, unless the language is “plainly lewd.” Significantly, the Third Circuit held that the task of defining “plainly lewd” is for the courts, a limitation that the five dissenting judges did not believe was supported by Supreme Court jurisprudence. This article explains the importance, including the controversy, of the B.H. holding.
