Who Has a Right to Free Speech?

May a student be punished by a school for speech he makes that is not on school time and not on school property? Conservatives say yes.

Certainly when a public school punishes a student for their speech, that is a government body imposing limitations on what speech can be freely made.

A high school student in Alaska held up a banner stating "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during an Olympic Torch relay in 2002. He was suspended from school for this action.

The student sued the school and the 9th Circuit court of appeals held that the school had improperly infringed upon his right to free speech.

Now, Ken Starr (yes, that Ken Starr) has taken up the case, on behalf of the school, for free. Apparently believing so strongly that a school district's interest in punishing undesirable actions outweighs the Constitutional rights of students.

The logical conclusion would also be that the district would have a right to take action against staff and faculty for their off duty actions as well, whether or not the Constitution protects those actions.

Does the Constitution only protect us from being imprisoned for our speech but allow the government to punish us by other means for exercising those rights? I would doubt that the founders had such intent.