This research project focuses on the following questions:

(1) How has the digital age afftected student's off-campus speech on school grounds?

(2) What steps should school officials take to regulate students' off-campus speech once it plays a part in the school environment?

In order to conduct my research, my main source of data will be both district and Supreme Court cases ranging from 1969-2012. I have chosen this form of data because the court cases go beyond individual opinion and stretch to the ultimate decision making process here in the United States: the Supreme Court. I have also chosen these cases because the wide range of years allows me to analyze not only the recent trends in Supreme Court cases as the digital age has evolved, but the previous years as well. These cases allow me to see how school officials and

the courts are evolving to limit student’s free speech as technology evolves. Since the modern society has become largely online, as students, we must become "well aware that our electronic message could and in fact will reach a spectrum of an audience" (Niemeyer, 2011).   Nothing that we tweet, blog, post or message online is private; it is important to understand as students our off-campus speech can intertwine with a school environment.

Another excellent way I went about collecting data for my research is through videos, websites and article responses that were electronically created by politicians, organizations, colleges and students in response to the outcome of many publicized free speech violations of students. This was essential to my research, because it enlightens us that the idea of free speech with students is not a new concept.  It is only in recent years that this concept has encompasses online speech "causing some educators to establish some policies that punish students for off campus speech." (SPLC, 2003-2004) This type of data allows us to compare court decisions with the opinions of politicians and school students alike,  We see different viewpoints into this research, allowing us to analyze when free speech off-campus should and shouldn't be punished.