Under The Law: The incredibly shrinking zone of teacher free speech

Abstract

Schools, districts, and states are able to place some limits on what teachers can and cannot teach, but what of teachers’ free speech rights outside the classroom? Robert Kim examines long-standing U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding free speech in school and considers how they might apply specifically to teachers’ free speech rights. He then surveys some recent district courts cases in which teachers were penalized for speech inside and outside the classroom. These cases suggest that it’s time to reexamine the role of teachers as representatives of the state.