Is a superintendent violating a teacher's free speech by requiring her to stop writing letters to the paper?
137971
Not necessarily. If you include the name of your school or school district when you write a letter to the editor of a paper, you give the impression that you represent the school or district and that you are speaking in their behalf. I think the superintendent is within the law in that case.
323858
"§ 3018. Revocation of certificate  by  district  superintendent. A district superintendent shall examine any  charge  affecting  the  moral  character  of any teacher within his district, first giving such teacher\nreasonable notice of the charge, and an opportunity  to  defend  himself  therefrom; and if he find the  charge sustained, he shall annul the  teacher's certificate, by whomsoever granted, and declare him  unfit to teach; and  if the  teacher holds a certificate of the commissioner of education or of a former  superintendent of  public instruction  or  a  diploma of a state college for teachers or state teachers college, he shall notify the commissioner of education forthwith of  such annulment  and declaration."
49435
In May 1983, students in the Journalism II class at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri, generated the final edition of their school paper, the Spectrum. As was customary, they submitted the paper to their advisor, Howard Emerson, who was new to the job. He followed the procedures of the recently departed previous advisor, giving the principal, Robert Reynolds, the opportunity to review the paper prior to publication.\n\nWhen Reynolds reviewed the paper, he found two articles that concerned him. The first article addressed the issue of teen pregnancy, including comments from pregnant students at the school. Although names were not given, Reynolds thought there were enough details in the article to make it easy for other students to determine the identities of the pregnant teens. He was concerned about the privacy of those students. The second article was about divorce and, like the first article, this one included personal articles. In this article, Reynolds was not concerned so much about the students, but, rather, about what they said about their families. For instance, one student whose parents were divorced made negative comments about her father, claiming that her father was always out with the guys, that he didn't spend enough time with his family, and that the father and mother were always arguing. Reynolds was troubled by the fact that the father had not been given a chance to defend himself by responding to his daughter's comments. He also noticed that the article mentioned sex and birth control. He did not think that students in ninth grade should be reading about sex and birth control.\n\nReynolds wanted the students to make changes in their articles, but he was afraid that if they took the time to do so, they would miss the deadline for publishing the Spectrum. He did not want that to happen, especially because it was the last issue of the year and there would not be another chance to publish the paper. He felt like he had to make a quick decision, so he told Emerson to delete the two pages with the questionable articles and publish the remainder of the paper. He informed his superiors in the school system of this decision; they supported him wholeheartedly.\n\nThe students had invested a great deal of time and energy in producing the paper and felt that they had followed proper journalism procedures. If they had been approached about the problems, they may have been able to resolve them. They were upset to find out instead that two pages, which included a number of non-offensive articles, had been deleted. They felt that this censorship was a direct violation of their First Amendment rights, so they took their case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. This court did not agree with the students; the judges said that school officials might impose limits on students' speech in activities that are "an integral part of the school's educational function" as long as their decision "has a substantial and reasonable basis". In other words, the court felt that if the school has a good reason to do so, it could place limits on curricular activities, such as the publication of the school newspaper.\n\nUnhappy with the outcome, the students appealed their case to the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. This court reversed the decision of the lower court, saying that the students' First Amendment rights were violated. In the opinion, the court conceded that the newspaper was indeed a part of the school curriculum but noted that it was also a "public forum". As a public forum, the newspaper was "intended to be and operated as a conduit for student viewpoint". Because the paper was a forum for student discussion, the principal or other officials could censor it only when "necessary to avoid material and substantial interference with school work or discipline . . . or the rights of others".\n\nThe school appealed th
820471
What State?  I'll try to find more.\nThis is what I found so far.\n\nSanctioning Teachers for Inappropriate Classroom Speech: A Case Note from Montana \nJournal Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education
997932
I don't know about specific laws in Maine, but in NC I believe the teachers can hold back a student without consent. If they want to hold your child back, it's probably for the best.
457433
I'm not sure exactly who you should go to, but you might try speaking with a local Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (link below).  They handle discrimination cases and that type of thing - if the school is denying your child services that he needs, then I'm pretty sure they can help you with this at no cost to you.  \n\nIf your child hasn't officially been diagnosed as special needs, however, the school is probably not obligated to offer extra services.  In any case, the teacher should be making modifications of her instruction to reach all students no matter what level they are performing at (research the term "differentiated instruction").\n\nOther possibilities (though I don't know much about using services from these entities so I may be wrong) might be a legal aid office or the attorney general's office.  \n\nI would highly recommend documenting every conversation you have had with teachers, administrators, etc., on this subject (you might even considering putting a voice recorder on your telephone, or carrying one with you when you speak in person - in most states this is legal as long as one person participating in the conversation is aware of it, but I'd recommend checking the laws for your state).  Also document the actions they've taken (firing the aide) and all the correspondence they send you (the letter about the teacher's credentials).  Documentation goes a long way in legal proceedings if your situation goes to that extreme - it will probably also give you some leverage at the IEP meeting if someone says something that you can disprove based on your detailed, accurate records. (Be sure to keep your records factual though, don't make assumptions about what you thought you saw or understood).\n\nI would also recommend going above the principal's head to the superintendent and asking to see a copy of the teacher's license/certification.  It should state whether or not the teacher has special ed credentials.\n\nBest of luck to you!
639613
Yes.\nThe problem is that we are all scared as children, and now that I am an adult I see how wrong and rude some teachers were/are.\nTell your Principal exactly how rude she is and what she said. Tell her that this is a valid complaint and if she doesn't rectify this kind of behavior that you have no choice but to speak to the Principal's Superintendent!\n\nDon't be afraid, nothing can happen to you. But do not attempt this if you are a trouble maker and have a documented history of your behavior as it will backfire on you.
916770
With rights come responsibilities. If the student wishes to write "The Principle is a poopie-doodle head" (Yes, I know principal is misspelled), he may, but must take the consequences for that action, or, punish the whole school to force out the miscreant
122642
Yes, because passing a note in class is disruptive and it is being disrespectful to the teacher and to other students.
553242
That classifies as "Conduct unbecoming a police officer".  As a police officer, there is a strict code that we have to abide by, even when we are off duty.  You are not permitted to "flash" your badge unless there is a legal purpose for it.  I would report her to a supervisor.  If that doesn't work, report her to your city council, county commissioners, Mayor.    And if all else fails, go to the newspaper.  Police officers are supposed to act professional at all times.
504161
You should have approached the teacher that actually did it, to try and get them to come forward on their own.  If that was not something that they were willing to do, then really you should have felt no guilt in getting them in trouble.  A suspension and quiting without notice will follow you to your next job, and only make things harder for you in the future.  You have to be your own best advocate.
223134
I support the right to publish the toons.  But with free speech you need to have respect and restraint.  You should publish something just because you can.  So if the material is disrespectful, or offensive, you need to be sure that's what you want to do...in this case it feels like they just published them to see if they could get a rise out of people. That's wrong.
1109670
If the investigation was about your daughter getting raped, or your family member dying in the twin tower collapse, or any other  criminal investigation, no.  Free speech is great, at a cost of a life, or for money isn't.  I hate to tell you the paper only covers it to make money, with no remorse to the repercussions it may have.
974973
What school do you attend?  Why are they giving out assignments based on their political beliefs?   That is unconstitutional, and a violation of your rights to academic freedom.  If I was you and some azzhole teacher gave me an assignment on "What was the worst thing Bush or Republicans did in 2003" I would report them to the Dept. of Education and call in to some conservative talk-show hosts.  They can help you.\nAnother kid in Colorado tape-recorded his teacher who went off on an anti-American rant.  You should do the same.
1140392
Considering the teacher is the adult in the situation, he or she shouldn't worry if the students like them or not. If the student not speaking to them means that they also won't participate in class when required, then the teacher should adjust their grade accordingly. If the student does the required work, then I don't think it matters.
585896
It is sexual harrassment when people ask unsolicited questions about your sex life. It is illegal. A teacher has no business asking about that.
269659
some scchhols, in an attempt to keep their SUSPENSION numbers down, have begun an IN-SCOOL SUSPENSION room.  kids spend their whole day here so they are not in the classroom aggravating teachers........... allegedly they do their assigned classwork and are supposedly learning....but u didn't ask about that, sorry..... the coordinator is the overseer.