Controversial Posts by Teachers Raise Interesting Free Speech Issues

This column expresses the views of David L. Hudson Jr., First Amendment Fellow, Freedom Forum.

Public school principals, teachers and other employees must realize that controversial social media posts may lead to discipline and ultimately no First Amendment protection for their inflammatory comments. Public employees retain rights as citizens to comment on matters of public importance, but those rights are balanced against school districts’ interests in avoiding disruption of their operations.

With the recent protests against police brutality and institutional racism occurring across the country, some public employees have chosen to voice derogatory comments toward protestors and Black Lives Matter. Consider the following incidents that have taken place in June 2020:

To keep reading this article, click here.