UPDATE: 

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says his office overreacted to a disparaging tweet from a high school senior and is apologizing for how his staff handled the issue.

Brownback issued a statement Monday after the Shawnee Mission School District said 18-year-old Emma Sullivan wouldn’t be punished for refusing to write an apology letter to the governor. Sullivan’s principal had earlier demanded the letter.

Sullivan sent a tweet during a class trip last week saying Brownback “sucked,” among other insulting comments.

Brownback’s office staff saw the tweet while monitoring social media and contacted the school. The governor has since faced ridicule for trying to police a teenager’s Internet musings.

In his statement, the governor thanked educators “who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum.”

ORIGINAL: A northeast Kansas school district says a high school senior who wrote a disparaging tweet about Gov. Sam Brownback doesn’t have to write a letter of apology and won’t face any repercussions.

The Shawnee Mission School District says it “acknowledges a student’s right to freedom of speech and expression is constitutionally protected.”

Emma Sullivan sent a tweet last week while attending a Youth in Government program in Topeka saying “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person.”

Brownback’s office staff saw the tweet while monitoring social media sites and contacted the youth program. Sullivan’s principal initially ordered her to apologize to the governor.

Her sister, Olivia, told The Associated Press her sister was in school Monday when their father talked to school officials.