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FRQ 3 — SCOTUS Comparison

Free Speech in Different Contexts

25 minutes suggested 4 points
AP Exam Tip

FRQ 3 always gives you an unseen case. Read it carefully before touching your required case knowledge. The comparison must be accurate in both directions — similarities AND differences both matter.

Source Excerpt · Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021) — Summary

The case below involves student free speech rights and the authority of public schools to regulate student expression.

A high school student was suspended from her cheerleading squad after posting a profanity-laden Snapchat story expressing frustration about not making the varsity team. The post was made off-campus and outside school hours. The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the school violated the student's First Amendment rights. The Court held that while schools retain some authority to regulate off-campus speech, that authority is diminished when the speech occurs off school grounds and outside school activities. The Court declined to set a definitive rule, instead leaving courts to weigh the specific circumstances of each case.

Use the non-required Supreme Court case summarized above and your knowledge of the required Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) to answer the following questions.

A

Identify the constitutional clause that is common to both Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) and Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021), and briefly explain the holding of Tinker.

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B

Explain ONE way in which the reasoning of Mahanoy is similar to the reasoning of Tinker.

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C

Explain ONE way in which Mahanoy extended or limited the principles established in Tinker.

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D

Describe a political action that school officials could take to address concerns about disruptive off-campus student speech without violating the First Amendment principles established in these cases.

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