The story is becoming common-place. Last summer, two student-athletes at Churubusco (Ind.) High School posted sexually suggestive photos of themselves on their MySpace pages, the images came to the attention of an administrator, and discipline was handed out.

What followed, however, was not common. The students sued the school, claiming their First Amendment right to free speech was violated. The suit, scheduled to be heard in U.S. District Court in April 2011, is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana and its outcome may have far-reaching implications for athletic conduct codes.

Although the photos on the social networking site were available only to users designated as "friends" of the girls, a parent of a Churubusco student discovered them and contacted school personnel. After viewing the photos, Churubusco Principal Austin Couch suspended both girls from all extracurricular activities for the 2009-10 school year, which meant they would not be able to join the volleyball team.

Couch decided the photos violated a district policy that says the principal "may exclude any student-athlete from representing Churubusco High School if his/her conduct in or out of school reflects discredit upon Churubusco High School ... or creates a disruptive influence on the discipline, good order, moral, or educational environment at Churubusco High School." The suspensions were later reduced to 25 percent of fall semester activities in exchange for the girls apologizing to school officials and attending three counseling sessions.

After complying with those conditions and returning to the volleyball team, the girls were still upset by the outcome. Feeling their rights had been violated, the two filed a lawsuit in October that makes two claims: First, the school's policy is so broad that it violates students' First Amendment right to free speech. Second, the policy shouldn't have applied in this case, because the conduct in question occurred away from school, the photos made no reference to the girls' affiliation with Churubusco High School, and "at no time did the pictures cause any disruption in the school or affect the school in any way."

The school district responded with a court filing that claims the photographs are obscene--possibly even meeting state and federal definitions of child pornography--and thus not protected speech under the First Amendment. The district also says that "rumors and discussions about the photographs have caused disruption at the high school," giving the principal clear authority to hand out punishment under the school's policy.

Martha McCarthy, Professor of Education and Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University, says past legal decisions have consistently agreed with the idea that extracurricular activities are considered a privilege, not a right, and thus schools have latitude when setting rules governing participation. If the suit succeeds, it could limit the scope of other schools' conduct codes.

"Courts have upheld a school's ability to enforce consequences, including suspensions, when student-athletes engage in conduct that publicly portrays the school in a negative light," she says. "Athletes are a select group who act as representatives of their school. If school officials feel they've acted in a way that degrades the school, it's reasonable to want to discipline them."

If the court agrees that the photos are obscene, the school will likely prevail in the case. Otherwise, the outcome may hinge on whether the court feels a MySpace page is a public forum. "They could rule this had nothing to do with the school and it happened in private, so the school can't impose disciplinary action," McCarthy says. "But they might also decide a Web site like MySpace truly isn't private--after all, the principal ended up seeing the photos."

The suit asks for a declaration that the conduct policy can't apply to out-of-school activity that doesn't cause a disruption at school, that any reference to the incident in the girls' school records be expunged, and that the files from their counseling sessions be destroyed. It also seeks an unspecified amount in damages and attorney's fees.

"Whatever the outcome of this case, the larger lesson is that students need to be extremely careful about what they post online," says McCarthy. "They need to realize it can cause problems they never would have anticipated."