A settlement has been reached between a Northwest Indiana school district and three girls expelled for a Facebook conversation that some perceived as threatening.
The students were expelled after writing online posts last year that discussed killing several classmates. According to a police report, portions of the Facebook conversation included one girl writing: "Lets kill the girl were talking about right now?"
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Griffith Public Schools over the expulsion saying the conversation was "clearly meant to be humorous, as evidenced by their repeated use of emoticons such as ;)…”
The organization said the expulsion violated the eighth graders' freedom of speech because the conversation was held on personal computers, outside of school.
The girls told NBC Chicago last April the whole thing was a joke. "It was just very dumb, and I wish I could take it back," a 14-year-old said. The school district at the time said it posed a true threat.
According to court documents filed Monday, the district offered the girls an opportunity to return to school in the fall, according to the Post-Tribune.
