Principal sues over student profiles

A Pennsylvania principal has sued four former students for defaming him in three MySpace profiles. “Each of the disputed sites, which went online during the course of one week in December 2005, was removed within days of its appearance after school officials contacted MySpace.com, CNET reports. In the complaint he filed, the administrator said they were imposter profiles that “falsely portrayed him as a pot smoker, beer guzzler and pornography lover and sullied his reputation.” One of the students and his parents earlier sued the principal and the school for what they called excessive action that violated the student’s First Amendment rights. CNET reports that the school suspended the 3.3 GPA student and placed him “in an alternative education program that allegedly prevented him from progressing with his normal coursework.” Meanwhile, in Indiana, the state’s appeals court ordered a lower court to set aside its penalty against a student who criticized her school principal in a MySpace profile, the Associated Press reports. The appeals court said the earlier decision violated the student’s free-speech rights.