The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that expelling a Penncrest High School student for a post containing violent song lyrics violated the student’s right to free speech, writes Max Bennett for patch.com.

The student’s post had no link to the school or his fellow students, the court ruled.

The lyrics on the Snapchat post included the words, “I will f***ing kill off all of you” and come from the death metal band Spite. It was posted in April 2018 while the student was not in school.

The student, identified as G.S., was charged with terroristic threats and harassment. The charges were dropped when a child psychologist determined G.S. was not a threat to the community.

Even so, the Rose Tree Media School District expelled G.S. in August 2018.

The expulsion decision was upheld in Delaware County Common Pleas Court but was overturned in the Commonwealth Court as a violation of the U.S. and Pennsylvania Constitutions.

“Public schools would consequently become de facto full-time censors, preventing children from making their own decisions about what aspects of popular culture are worthy of consumption…,” reads part of the decision written by Commonwealth Court Judge Ellen Ceisler.

Read more at patch.com about this court decision on a student’s Snapchat post.