School Law Links
Ch.4 Teachers
and the Law
Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth (1972)
U.S.
·
Able to non renew an untenured teacher with no reason
·
California 2 year probation
Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High
School (1968) U.S.
·
First Amendment right of freedom of expression.
o 1. Speech must be a
matter of public concern
o 2. Pickering Balance
§
Interests of the teacher must be balanced against
interests of the state.
Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education
v. Doyle (1977) U.S.
·
Non-tenured teacher has freedom of expression
·
Cannot dismiss a non-tenured teacher because of
something they said on a Radio Station.
·
Tenured teachers have expectation for continued
employment, but not untenured teachers
·
Cannot dismiss tenured teachers without cause for
dismissal.
Levels of Scrutiny
1. Rational Basis Test
§
Lowest standards
§
Age, Disability, Wealth, Economic, Sexual Orientation
2. Intermediate
Scrutiny
§
Medium – Gender
3. Strict Scrutiny
§
Very Strong - Races
Fowler v. Board of Education of Lincoln County (1987)
U.S.
·
F is for Fired
·
Pink Floyd movie
·
Tenured teacher fired for showing Pink Floyd movie
·
Showing movie not protected by the First Amendment
Wilson v. Chancellor (1976) US District Court, Oregon
·
Can’t restrain a teacher from using political
speakers
East Hartford Ed Association v. Board of Ed of Town
of E. Hartford (1977) Court of Appeals.
·
School Board has the right to mandate dress codes
Gaylord v. Tacoma School District (1977) U.S.
·
Teacher as Exemplar
·
Homosexual teacher
·
Court upheld firing based on immorality and fitness
·
Early cases were uniformly unfavorable to homosexuals
·
Recent decisions have turned on freedom of expression
issues
Erb v. Iowa State Board of Public Instruction (1974)
Iowa
·
Teacher lost job for adultery
·
Punishment given was for a criminal law
·
No evidence to show his affair had an adverse affect
on school community
Gillett v. Unified School District (1980) U.S.
·
Tenured teacher
·
Shoplifting
·
Dismissal upheld because of teacher’s inability to
handle school funds and physical and mental instability
Barcheski v. Board of Ed of Grand Rapids (1987) Court
of Appeals Michigan
·
Impropriety with Students
·
Teacher invited 2 female students of his driver ed
class to a party
·
Dismissal was upheld because of substantial evidence
of improper or wrongful conduct.
Marshal v. Kirkland (1979) Court of Appeals
·
Gender discrimination
·
Unconstitutional sex discrimination of promoting
female teachers to administrative positions.
Eckmann v. Board of Education (1986)Illinois
·
Individual rights v. State Interest
·
Can’t fire a teacher for having a child
out-of-wedlock
Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association
·
Collective bargaining
·
Union dues and rights
·
Unions may collect fees, and subsidize lobbying and
other political activities with dissenter’s fees.