Evan Cohen, attorney for the plaintiff, said school officials overstepped their authority in getting involved. The YouTube video was not "student speech" because it happened off campus, attorneys wrote in the suit, which asks for monetary damages from the school officials and that the student's disciplinary record be expunged.
"Unless there's substantial disruption of school business, it's none of their business," Cohen said.
Amy Lambert, director of pupil and special services for the Beverly Hills Unified School District, said the suit is the first for her district involving cyber-bullying.
She declined to discuss the lawsuit but said headaches involving sites such as YouTube are plaguing schools all around Los Angeles. Posting on the Internet has become the modern equivalent of students marking up school walls, only far more public and potentially damaging, she said.
"Something derogatory, bullying-like or hateful or sexually abusive -- anything you remember from your childhood -- is now being posted on the Internet," Lambert said.
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victoria.kim@latimes.com
