254
CHAPTER 9: Legal Aspects of Education and polished manners. Although these standards have relaxed, in some places, teachers may still be dismissed under immorality statutes for a drunk-driving incident, homosexuality, or for living unmarried with a member of the opposite sex. Seemingly less weighty behaviors have also sometimes become grounds for dismissal, such as engaging in a water fight in which a student suffered mild skin irritations or joking about testes and menstrual periods when these topics were not part of the curriculum being taught by a science teacher. Teachers have been dismissed for actions such as participating in a “Slut Walk” intended to empower sexually assaulted women, and for modeling swimsuits.16 Recent years have seen occasional movement toward reemphasizing teachers’ responsibilities as moral exemplars in and out of school. Many parents have demanded that schools reinforce traditional values among students, and many schools have introduced character education programs. School district policies generally still require that teachers serve as positive role models. Based in part on such requirements, Indiana courts upheld the dismissal of a teacher who drank beer in the presence of students at a local restaurant and then drove them home. A number of teachers have been reprimanded, suspended, or even fired for posting sexually oriented material on the Internet. In the past few years, some teachers have been dismissed for Internet postings such as one that indicated an intention to play “Crazy Bitch Bingo” at a local restaurant, and another for including an image of a male stripper at a bachelorette party. Numerous such dismissals have been reversed in court or voided by district officials or legal settlements. According to attorneys for the National School Boards Association, misbehavior outside the school that reduces teachers’ capacity to serve as positive role models can justify reprimands or dismissals as long as rights to free speech and free association (with friends or acquaintances of one’s choice) are not violated. Some courts have followed this line of reasoning in allowing school districts to carry out drug testing of teachers and other staff. However, teachers are much less likely than professionals in general to be found or accused of using illegal drugs, and teacher groups have tended to view drug testing as an invasion of privacy. At least one federal court has ruled that such testing unconstitutionally violates teachers’ rights to be free of unreasonable searches.17 Moral standards are also subject to changing social mores. In the past few years, for example, some states and numerous jurisdictions have passed laws prohibiting discrimination against gay or lesbian individuals. Several courts have cited such laws in rejecting job termination and other actions that may have been directed against gay or lesbian teachers. However, in some locations, schools still are moving to terminate gay or lesbian teachers.18
Everett Area School District v. Ault, 548 A. 2d 1341 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1988); Baldrige v. Board of Trustees, No. 97–230 (Washington 1997); Richard S. Vacca, “Public Trust and the Role of Classroom Teachers,” CEPI Education Law Newsletter (March 2005), available at www.cepi.vcu.edu /publications/newsletters; Edwin C. Darden, “Conduct Unbecoming,” American School Board Journal (October 2007); and Suzanne E. Eckes, “Strippers, Beer, and Bachelorette Parties,” Principal Leadership (September 2013), available at www.nassp.org. 17 “Ed Law Briefly: Mississippi High Court Affirms School District’s Right to Fire a Teacher Who Refused Drug Test,” September 10, 2014, posting by Real Clear Education, available at www.realcleareducation.com; and Grace Chen, “Drug Testing Teachers,” 2015 posting by Public School Review, available at www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/drug-testing -teachers-testing-positive-or-negative. 18 Michael D. Simpson, “Big Legal Victories for Gay Students and Teachers,” NEA Today (January 2003); Craig Sailor, “Tacoma District Apologizing for Firing Gay Teacher,” Washington Times (July 10, 2014), available at www.washingtontimes.com; and Amanda Terkel, “Gay Teacher Fired after Posting Marriage Announcement on Facebook,” January 14, 2015, posting by Huff Post, available at www.huffingtonpost.com. 16
Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
