Wisniewski v. Board of Education of the Weedsport Central School District

Wisniewski (plaintiff), an eighth-grader, used an instant-messenger icon depicting a gun shooting a person's head with the caption 'Kill Mr. VanderMolen' (his teacher), sending messages bearing it to 15 people, including classmates, from home over three weeks. The image eventually reached VanderMolen and school administrators; after police concluded it was intended as a joke, Wisniewski was still suspended for a semester following a hearing, on the ground the image had disrupted the school's educational environment. He sued under section 1983, and the district court dismissed his First Amendment claims.

Whether the First Amendment prevents a school from disciplining a student for off-campus conduct that creates a foreseeable risk of substantial disruption within the school.