2. Freedom of Expression
Provided teachers words do not
create “material disruption” to the
district, school or employees, they
are afforded the same rights as
every other citizen.
Connick v Meyers – School district employees
circulated a petition regarding the function of the
office. This was not upheld as freedom of
expression due to the nature of the petition, its
circulation at school, and the lack of regard of
proper channels of dealing with sub par behavior.
3. Speech Outside the School
Environment
Pickering – Teachers are afforded
the same rights out of school as any
other citizen. Pickering’s letter to
the editor about the school district
was deemed within his rights even
though it misrepresented facts.
4. Academic Freedom
Teachers in the public schools must
teach the curriculum in a way that
is appropriate for the students’ age,
maturity and intellectual level.
Inappropriate and controversial
material is generally not supported
by courts.
Fowler – A tenured teacher was
discharged for showing Pink Floyd’s
The Wall because the teacher
disregarded the district’s no rated R
rule.
5. Freedom of Association
Teachers have the rights of every
citizen which allows them to
associate with other people of their
choice without threat of
punishment.
Supreme Court states “a teacher
serves as a role model for his
students, exerting a subtle but an
important influence over their
perceptions and values.”
6. Membership in Subversive
Organizations
Elfbrandt v Russel – “Those who
join an organization but do not
share its unlawful purposes and who
do not participate in its unlawful
activities surely pose no threat,
either as a citizen or as a public
employee”
7. Political Rights
Teachers have the same rights and
freedoms enjoyed by all citizens.
Teachers must limit their political
activities away from the classroom
and outside of the school day.
8. Right to Hold Office
Teachers can legally hold public
office. Some school board policy
dictates that teachers running
for/holding office must take a leave
of absence to do so.
In no circumstance, can the
teacher’s contract be cancelled due
to running for/holding office.
9. Participation in Political
Campaigns
Teachers have the right to
participate in political campaigns
provided it does not interfere with
the school.
District cannot prevent, threaten,
harass or discriminate teachers
based on their participation in
political campaigns.
10. Dress and Grooming
There is a long record of general
disagreement in the courts about
school districts trying to regulate
teacher appearance.
East Hartford Education Association
v Board of Education of Town of
East Hartford – Court upheld the
dress code of wearing a tie.
11. Unwed Pregnant Teachers
Courts tend to vary in rulings regarding
unwed pregnant teachers
1960s and 1970s – courts were more
inclined to rule against single teachers
who were dismissed by school boards
when they reported their pregnancy
Mid 1970s and early 1980s – Courts
became less inclined to rule against unwed
pregnant teachers without carefully
weighing all aspects of each case
12. Unwed Pregnant Teachers Cont.
Courts considered teacher’s overall
performance record, the impact of the
teacher’s actions on students, and, more
important, the extent to which the
teacher’s actions adversely affect their
effectiveness as a teacher
Courts may also consider community
standards and the extent to which the
teacher’s conduct violates the ethics of the
community
Overall, large variance among courts in
addressing pregnancy among unwed
teachers
13. Right to Privacy
Right to privacy of teachers and administrators
should be respected to the extent that they do
not violate the integrity of the community or
render the teacher/administrator ineffective in
performing professional duties
Burden of proof lies with school boards to
demonstrate that lifestyle choice adversely
affects the integrity of the district or that the
conduct of the teacher/administrator has a
detrimental effect on his/her relations with
students or parents
14. Religious Discrimination in Public
Schools
Title VII addresses any forms of religious
discrimination regarding employment.
Religion is defined under Title VII to
include “all aspects of religious
observances, practices, and beliefs.”
Employer, including school board, must
make reasonable accommodations to the
employee’s religion, unless the employer
can demonstrate the inability to do so
based on undue hardship.
15. Religious Discrimination in Public
Schools
School officials must make
allowances for teachers’ religious
observances if such observances do
not create substantial disruption to
the educational process
Examples: personal leave to attend
a religious convention or to observe
a religious holiday
16. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Family and Medical Leave Act was passed by Congress in
1993
Designed to allow eligible employees up to a total of
twelve work weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve-
month period for one or more of the following reasons:
Birth and care of the newborn child of the employee
Placement with the employee of a son/daughter for
adoption or foster care
Caring for an immediate family member with a serious
health condition
Medical leave when the employee is unable to work
because of a serious health condition
17. FMLA Cont.
Employers with fifty or more employees
are covered by this act
Eligible employee must be employed for
at least twelve months or for at least
1,250 hours over the previous twelve
months
An employer may raise questions of the
employee to confirm whether the leave is
needed or being taken for qualified FMLA
purposes
