Matos by and through Matos v. Clinton School District

Alma Matos (plaintiff) was a senior at Clinton High School enrolled in a journalism class taught by Marguerite Foley. As the instructor, Foley routinely reviewed assignments that students completed on school computers and printed on school printers. School policy forbade students from using school computers for non-school-related purposes. During Foley’s class, Matos used a school computer to type offensive allegations against Foley and the school’s principal, including allegations that Foley and the principal were in a sexual relationship. Matos then printed the document containing the allegations on a school printer and placed the document in her personal journal. After Matos refused Foley’s request to see the document, Foley took the document and sent Matos to the principal’s office. The principal read the document and called Matos’s mother to the school. The principal informed Matos and her mother that he was suspending Matos for 10 days. Matos sued Foley, the principal, and the school district (defendants) in district court, seeking an injunction to expunge her suspension and to prevent the district from disclosing information about it to third parties, such as colleges. Among other allegations, Matos alleged that Foley violated Matos’s Fourth Amendment right not to be subjected to an unreasonable search. Matos applied for a preliminary injunction until the case was decided on the merits.