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Teacher’s Rights and Responsibilities

Rubicela Chavez- Lazcano

Education 203

Professor Dr. Dale B. Warby

February 04, 2019

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Introduction:

A teacher may be dismissed from her job because of something she said. Ann Griffin is a

white tenured teacher. She works at a high school with both African American and white

teachers. The majority of the student population however, is African American. In an argument

with Principal Freddie Watts and Vice Principal Jimmy Brothers, both African Americans, she

said she “hated all black folks.” The rest of the staff, were very upset when they heard what she

said. Fear that her prejudice would affect her job performance led the principle to recommend

she be fired.

Pro Support:

In Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), the school board dismissed

teacher Marvin Pickering because he wrote a letter he wrote to the newspaper. In it he criticized

the way that the superintendent and school district had handled school funds. The court ruled in

favor of the teacher and the dismissal was overturned because the school had violated the

teacher’s right to freedom of speech. The court decided that teachers have the right to make

public comments when they relate to matters of public concern (Underwood, 2006).

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969),

students wore black armbands as a sign of protest against the Vietnam War. When the school

district they forbade all students from wearing black armbands to prevent this protest from

happening because they believed it was a disruption. Any student who decided to wear one
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would be facing suspension. The Supreme Court ruled against the school stating that it

unconstitutionally denied their right to express their opinion. They cited Constitutional Law 90

and stated that “neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech

or expression at the schoolhouse gate (Underwood, 2016).”

Con Support:

In Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986), the school district

suspended a student for giving a vulgar and lewd speech in front of the student assembly. The

students argued that his right to freedom of speech had been violated, but the court upheld the

school’s decision. They decided that the freedom to advocate controversial views in a school

setting has to be balanced with teaching student’s boundaries and appropriate behavior. The

school can stand against speech that can cause a social disturbance (Hudson, 2018).

In Melzer v. Bd. of Educ. of the City Sch. Dist. of the City of N.Y., 196 F. Supp. 2d 229

(2002), a teacher was fired due to his membership in the North American Man/Boy Love

Association which promotes sexual relationships between men and boys. The teacher filed a

complaint against the school but ultimately the school ruled in favor of the school district. They

decided that students might not be comfortable having a teacher with these views; therefore his

membership in the association could undermine his effectiveness as a teacher. A similar

argument can be made for a teacher who openly hates a particular group or race of students

(Underwood, 2016) .
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Conclusion:

This scenario is a freedom of speech issue. Both teachers and students have the right to

free speech and they do not lose that right when they enter the school grounds. However, their

speech is not unlimited. The right to free speech and freedom of expression was upheld in Tinker

v. Des Moines but there is an exception: if a person’s expression causes a disruption of school

activities or infringes on someone else’s rights. What Ann Griffin expressed was hate speech

toward a specific group, a group that constitutes the majority of the student population and much

of the staff. She actually said the word “hate”. This type of view would certainly undermine her

effectiveness as a teacher in the black community. She has a clear bias. Just like in Melzer v.

Board of Education of the City School District of the City of N.Y., students would be

uncomfortable with her views and would make interaction with her African American colleagues

very difficult. I think for all these reason, the court should uphold the schools decision to dismiss

her from her position, despite her tenure.

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References

Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986)

Hudson, D. L. (2018, March) K-12 Public School Student Expression Overview.

Retrieved from https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-

center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/k-12-public-school-student-expression/

Melzer v. Bd. of Educ. of the City Sch. Dist. of the City of N.Y., 196 F. Supp. 2d 229

(2002)

Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968)

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)

Underwood, J. (2006) School Law For Teachers Concepts and Applications. Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.