Kieran King Update

According to today’s Globe and Mail, legal action may now be taken on behalf of Kieran King, the fifteen year old student who was suspended by his principal Susan Wilson — an ill-informed, bullying autocrat — for asking questions and offering information about the effects of marijuana relative to tobacco and alcohol:

A video recording of a free-speech protest at a Saskatchewan high school shows a school superintendent saying publicly that 15-year-old Kieran King had been accused of selling drugs at his school, even though his mother says he had never been investigated or charged, or even spoken to by the school principal.

Kieran’s mother, Jo Anne Euler, says the drug-selling accusation is false, but hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue legal action. Her first priority is to appeal the school’s decision to prevent Kieran from writing his final exams, which means his grades will fall from the high 80s to the mid-50s.

I hope she does sue, because I would like Susan Wilson — a narrow-minded, cold-hearted power-junkie — to think twice before slapping down the next inquisitive student that crosses her path. I’m just not really sure how good her chances would be.

In the U.S., under the Tinker standard, I think Kieran would have a strong case. Anyone know what the state of educational free speech case law is in Canada?