Chicago teacher’s “teachable moment” about racial slur leads to favorable “academic freedom” ruling

Federal courts rarely afford much weight to the "academic freedom" of public school teachers when they're disciplined for what they say during class, but an Illinois district court has made an exception in a rather unlikely factual setting: A Chicago teacher suspended for saying the "n-word" in front of sixth-graders.In Brown v.

Ninth Circuit latest to exempt publicly employed teachers from Garcetti speech restrictions

It’s illegal for public agencies to discipline teachers for statements they make, if those statements are a "matter of public concern," a federal appeals court ruled last week.Most public employees can be disciplined for making statements their bosses don’t like, even if it might seem like they are protected by the First Amendment.