Florida Student Settles Over Facebook Suspension

A girl suspended from a Broward County charter school after she criticized a teacher on Facebook has settled a federal lawsuit against the school’s principal.

Court documents show that Katherine Evans will receive $15,000 in legal fees and $1 in nominal damages. Her three-day suspension for cyberbullying also will be wiped from her schoola records.

Evans was suspended in 2007 after her principal found a Facebook group in which she harshly criticized her English teacher. After her suspension, Evans sued on grounds that her First Amendment rights were violated.

The settlement was reached earlier this month. Evans is now a 20-year-old University of Florida student.