Supreme Court weighs free speech case of Pennsylvania cheerleader punished for salty Snapchat

The Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with how far school's authority to discipline their students for speech that occurs off-campus extends, as the justices weighed the case of a cheerleader punished for a salty message posted to Snapchat.

The legal battle that played out across just under two hours of arguments, held remotely by telephone because of the coronavirus pandemic, marked the biggest case involving student speech to land before the high court in 50 years.

While the justices questioned whether the Snapchat message from Brandi Levy, the student at the center of the dispute, caused a substantial disruption to school activities, they wrestled with how to balance protecting political and religious speech while ensuring bullying or harassment that originates off school grounds doesn't go unanswered by school officials.