William Allan Kritsonis, PhD Educational Law Series - Censorship

1. Chapter 6: Expression & Associational Rights William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

2. Rights of Expression Freedom of Speech Freedom of Press Freedom of Assembly and Association (All 3 of these are key provision of the 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution)

3. Rights of Expression Defined Freedom of Speech: the freedom to speak freely without censorship or limitation. 2. Freedom of the Press: consists of constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to the media and published materials. 3. Freedom of Assembly & Association:theindividual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests. Freedom of association is recognized as a human right, a political freedom and a civil liberty.

5. The Counterpart to the 1st Amendment in the Texas Constitution is Article I, §8 “Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write, publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of the privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press.”

7. 1995, the drafters US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit noted that the drafters of the Texas Constitution rejected the language of the First Amendment, preferring instead a broader support for free speech…

10. Educator Rights of Expression Outside of School Public school teachers and administrators have the same civil rights outside school as any other citizen BUT it is also true that an educator’s job may be in jeopardy if the exercise of a right undermines job effectiveness.

11. Pickering v. Board of Education (U.S. Supreme Court, 1968) This case involved a teacher who was dismissed from his job for sending a letter critical of the school board to the local newspaper. The school board and the lower courts concluded that the letter included some false statements and was detrimental to the interest of the school system and the interests of school should take precedence over the teacher’s claim to freedom of speech.

13. Justice Thurgood Marshall wanted to balance the teacher’s rights of expression on public issues outside school with the legitimate interests of the school board in assuring an efficient and orderly learning environment in school…

15. He doesn’t have to have notice or hearing but he requested a list of reasons . The Superintendent then mailed him a memo with the radio incident listed as one of the reasons for his nonrenewal. Doyle then sued, claiming retaliation for free speech.

16. Both the federal trial and appellate courts supported his claim under Pickering but the US Supreme Court did not.

18. Expression Within The School 3 Dimensions: -Expression outside the classroom but on the school grounds -Classroom Academic Freedom -Retaliation for speaking out about suspected Wrongdoing under the Texas Whistle Blower Statute

19. Expression Outside the Classroom But on School Grounds Administrators must be sensitive to employees First Amendment rights when making decisions about school mailboxes, web sites, and similar types of communication In 1983, Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educator’s Association, it was ruled that school mailboxes are not automatically “public forums” available to teacher, their associations, and others to disseminate information. The Supreme Court viewed the school mailboxes as a closed forum under the school’s control and reserved for its use so long as officials are not suppressing expression because they disagree with the message.

21. The court drew a distinction between expression involving public interest and expression involving working conditions

23. Classroom Academic Freedom 4 Guidelines: 1. Teachers shouldn’t use the freedom of expression rights within the school in such a way that will hinder their ability to work with school administrators and colleagues 2. Before teachers make determinations about what they can and cannot do in their classrooms, they should have a good understanding of the school policy with respect to curriculum practices and the role of the teacher 3. Teachers should make sure that all classroom discussions are pertaining to their subject matter, is balanced and has not undermined their effectiveness 4. Teachers should be cautious selecting materials, while teaching methodology, and also when awarding grades.

24. Retaliation for Speaking Out About Wrongdoing