VICTORY: Jury finds Tennessee high school student’s suspension for sharing memes violated the First Amendment

• A Tennessee high school suspended a student after his off-campus posting of satirical Instagram memes about his principal.
• FIRE sued, and a jury found the suspension violated the First Amendment.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 15, 2026 — Two years after a Tennessee high school student sued Tullahoma City Schools for suspending him over Instagram memes lampooning his principal, a jury found that the school district’s actions violated the First Amendment. 

The now 20-year-old former student is represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

“This isn’t just a victory for our client, it’s a victory for any high school student who wants to speak their mind about school online without fear of punishment,” said FIRE senior attorney Conor Fitzpatrick. “Our client’s posts caused no disruption, and what teenagers post on social media is their parents’ business, not the government’s.”

FIRE’s lawsuit challenged Tullahoma High School administrators’ August 2022 suspension of the student for three days during his junior year for posting three memes lampooning then-Principal Jason Quick. 

The school cited its social media policies to justify the suspension. The student’s first meme showed Quick holding a box of vegetables with the caption, “🔥My brotha🔥.” The second depicted Quick as an anime cat wearing whiskers, cat ears, and a French maid dress. The third showed Quick’s head superimposed on a hand-drawn cartoon character being hugged by a cartoon bird. The student intended the images to be tongue-in-cheek commentary, gently lampooning a school administrator he perceived as humorless. 

But Quick had the school suspend the student anyway, under its social media policy that banned images which “embarrass,” “discredit,” or “humiliate” another student or school staff member. Another school policy banned posts “unbecoming of a Wildcat,” the Tullahoma High School mascot. 

Shortly after FIRE sued on the student’s behalf, the school district lifted those policies and removed the suspension from the student’s record while litigation continued. 

Today, a jury found the school district liable for suspending the student for his speech in the first place. The verdict confirms that the student's First Amendment rights were violated by the school’s punishment. A jury also awarded the student nominal damages.

“Thin-skinned high school principals can’t suspend students for poking fun at them outside of school,” said Fitzpatrick. “The evidence and the jury’s verdict make it clear: High school students get to use the First Amendment, not just learn about it.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them. 

CONTACT
Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org