Dear Legal Mailbag:
One of the teachers in my school has a blog, and almost every day she posts her account from the trenches as a classroom teacher. Last week, she referred in her blog to one of her students who has an anxiety disorder as a “snowflake” who would benefit from joining the Army. There are no secrets in cyberspace, and the parent found out about the blog. Now she is demanding that we fire this teacher. Conversely, the teacher and her union are claiming that her comments are protected by the First Amendment. Can teachers really make comments like this on social media with impunity?
Signed,
Concerned for Civility
Dear Concerned:
It is doubtful that the teacher has a First Amendment right to make such comments on her blog. Teacher complaints about students, colleagues or supervisors are as old as schools themselves. However, when teachers post complaints online (e.g., on social media or a blog), such comments may not be protected speech, either because the comments do not relate to matters of public concern or because they are disruptive, which includes speech that harms the necessary trust between teachers and the students and families they serve.
In Munroe v. Central Bucks School District, 805 F.3d 454 (3d Cir. 2015), a teacher was fired after it was revealed that she had made offensive and demeaning comments on her blog about children with disabilities and her students in general. She brought an action in federal court, alleging retaliation for exercising protected rights under the First Amendment. However, the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision, which found her offensive statements unprotected and dismissed her claim.
In...
