<p>I seriously doubt the student could be sued for libel. She thinks her teacher sucks. That is her opinion. How could the teacher prove in a court of law that she doesn’t suck? She can’t, because that is a subjective opinion. If the student had said, “My teacher has sex with freshman boys” or “my teacher is slugging down gin in the Teachers Room”, maybe the student could be sued for libel. Furthermore, the teacher’s reputation was clearly not injured by this incident, seeing as her workplace sided with her and doled out (inappropriate) punitive measures on the student.</p>
<p>Think of the political ads that spring up ever election season. “So-and-So is the worst politician in the world” is usually pretty mild compared to most of the things they say, hint, and insinuate and they don’t get sued for libel. You can write “My neighbor is the rudest person I ever met” and not get sued for libel.</p>