Troublesome student writing after Sandy Hook

I blogged shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, CT about the potential impact such an event would have on student speech, and in particular, student writings. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were writers of a sort and after the fact, many questioned why English teachers, administrators, and friends couldn't dissect those writings to prevent the horrific event that occurred.  After Columbine in 1999, many of our nation's public school administrators responded in a very natural way - over reaction, fear, and intolerance - in particular to student writings that were dark, violence, or disturbing. This led to a number of student speech cases wherein courts referred to Columbine as an event that all school administrators are aware of and are attempting to prevent. While student speech rights faced some difficulties after Columbine, over time Hazelwood, Fraser, and Tinker (and eventually Morse) reemerged as the landmark cases we could all rely on.

Student writing is again on the forefront after Sandy Hook. In San Francisco, Courtni Webb, a 17-year-old charter school student, was suspended for the content of a poem she wrote in which she stated that she understood why Adam Lanza did what he did. She offered a brief commentary on the state of society as she saw it writing, “I know why he pulled the trigger. Why are we oppressed by a dysfunctional community of haters and blamers?” Webb made no threats of violence in her poem nor did she turn the poem in for class credit - a teacher found the poem and turned it over to administrators. Webb likened herself to a young Stephen King and noted that she often writes about sadness and other emotional topics. The school maintains a zero tolerance approach to threats of violence and apparently felt the student writing was just that although Webb maintains she has no disciplinary record to indicate she is a potential threat.

Violence in student writing is nothing new, but the issues will be renewed after Sandy Hook. Removing the charter school issue from Webb's scenario, the implications are still there for public schools - how do we best allow students to be creative, thoughtful, and provocative writers while still maintaining school safety? I argue in favor of writing - only because as a former English teacher I know how important meaningful and personal writing can be to adolescents. But I also know the difficulty of handing over a piece of student writing to a principal and asking "What if???" There are no easy answers here but as legal scholars and educators we must be vigilant of the issues that arise quickly within one day and ready to respond swiftly in a defensible fashion.

Any suggestions?