Teachers' Curriculum Choices Not Protected Under First Amendment, Court Rules

Mark Walsh wrote in the Education Week (10/21) "School Law" blog that the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled on Thursday that "teachers have no First Amendment free-speech protection for curricular decisions they make in the classroom." The ruling "came in the case of an Ohio teacher whose contract was not renewed in 2002 after community controversy over reading selections she assigned to her high school English classes." The court said in its opinion that the school board is ultimately responsible "for what goes on in the classroom, legitimately giving it a say over what teachers may (or may not) teach in the classroom."