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Home > Shawnee Mission East High School v. Sullivan

Shawnee Mission East High School v. Sullivan [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Mon, 12/05/2011 - 16:54

Summary

Threat Type: 

Disciplinary Action

Date: 

11/21/2011

Status: 

Concluded

Location: 

Kansas

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Other
The Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas on Nov. 22, 2011, ordered Emma Sullivan, a student, to write an apology to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback after Sullivan tweeted criticism of Brownback during a school field trip to the Kansas state capitol.... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Emma Sullivan

Type of Party: 

Government
School

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • Kansas

Location of Party: 

  • Kansas
Description

The Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas on Nov. 22, 2011, ordered Emma Sullivan, a student, to write an apology to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback after Sullivan tweeted criticism of Brownback during a school field trip to the Kansas state capitol.

During a Kansas Youth in Government field trip on Nov. 22, Sullivan tweeted "Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot." as a joke to her friends.  She did not actually speak to Brownback.

The next day, Shawnee Mission East Principal Karl Krawitz, who was notified of the tweet by members of Brownback's staff, called Sullivan into his office.  She told CNN [2] that Krawitz told her that her tweet had embarrassed the school and the school district. He asked her to write an apology to Brownback.  Sullivan refused, citing her right to free speech and her parents' support.

After her situation came to media attention, the Shawnee East School District reviewed the situation.  The district determined that no apology was required and that no further action would be taken against Sullivan.  

On Nov. 28, 2011, Brownback also issued an apology, saying that "My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize." The Associated Press reports [3] that he said "Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms."

Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

  • Twitter [4]

Content Type: 

  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Micro-blog

Subject Area: 

  • Free Speech
  • Student Speech
  • Twitter
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Kansas

Source of Law: 

  • United States
CMLP Information (Private)

Priority: 

2-Normal

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Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:12pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/shawnee-mission-east-high-school-v-sullivan

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/shawnee-mission-east-high-school-v-sullivan
[2] http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/us/kansas-high-schooler-tweet/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
[3] http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19425507
[4] http://twitter.com/emmakate988