The photo, they claimed, promoted underage drinking, even though Ms. Snyder was of legal drinking age at the time the photo was taken. As a result, Conestoga Valley gave Ms. Snyder a rating of “unsatisfactory” on the “professionalism” portion of her student teacher evaluation. (Ms. Snyder had received ratings of “superior” or “competent” in all areas of her evaluation.) Conestoga Valley submitted Ms. Snyder’s evaluation to Millersville University along with a statement that it no longer would accept student teachers from Millersville if Ms. Snyder went unpunished.

The day before Ms. Snyder’s graduation, Millersville University informed Ms. Snyder that it would not award her a teaching degree, but would be awarding her a degree in English instead. Millersville stood by its decision despite Ms. Snyder’s apology to Conestoga Valley and other attempts to make amends. Unable to work as a teacher, Ms. Snyder took a job as a nanny and sued Millersville in federal court claiming, among other things, that Millersville violated her free speech rights. “The bottom line,” Ms. Snyder’s lawyer said, “is we want the college to bestow the degree and teaching certificate that Stacy earned during four years of hard work and sacrifice.”

Does Ms. Snyder have a good case? If the media reports are accurate, she does. Schools may limit student, teacher, and staff use of school computer systems, but they have little control over what students, teachers, and staff say and do on their home computer and internet systems.