hasbeen;1403889 wrote:I agree with you that schools need to do it with the way the world works, but I just hate how the world works. lol
Disagree. School rules do not apply to other areas. No smoking on school grounds. There's nothing wrong with smoking off school grounds, assuming the student is 18. No cursing in school. Curse outside. No problem. Inappropriate dress in school. Same deal. Saying you hate a teacher, suspension. Saying you hate a celebrity, not so much.
School rules do not apply outside of school.
Not all school rules are created equal, obviously. You're ignoring that the school has discretion and latitude, just as they do within their walls (i.e. not every violation of a code of conduct equals suspension or even detention). Sports teams have kicked athletes off for drugs/alcohol, even outside of school activities.
Your workplace can't fire you for smoking outside of work, either. It doesn't prevent them from firing you for other conduct issues outside of work, though.
When presented with evidence of a code of conduct violation, regardless of where it occurs, the school can act as it deems appropriate. If the community feels they are administering those standards unfairly, they can take it up with their elected Board officials or the courts. But clearly there are differences between swearing outside of school vs. making death threats and racist speech toward classmates on facebook. None of the examples you mention are subjecting other members of that community to the behavior against their will.
I don't suspect courts are going to oppose broad applications of a code of conduct provided the school did not violate any civil liberties/privacy in obtaining the information they based their decision on. Presumably courts would balance a student's right to an education with the need to foster a productive environment. That's why pretty clearly something like suspension for smoking outside of school would never hold-up, while finding the school is justified in other cases.