Ever had a board member that is constantly criticizing school district administration and felt at a loss when other board members ask what you can do to stop it? While you may not be able to stop it, one Board used its own internal political process to respond to the lone critic. A board member's First Amendment rights were called into question at a school district in Washington, when a Board majority voted to strip the Board's vice president of his title as a result of his on-going public criticism of the District's superintendent. The former Board VP sued the school district and his board member colleagues alleging they had violated his First Amendment Rights. The Ninth Circuit held that the Board's action did not prevent the former VP from continuing to "speak out, vote his conscience, and serve his constituents as a member of the Board". The Board member was free to criticize the superintendent, however, the rest of the Board was free to remove him from his vice president status. For more information, check back for a Legal Alert from our office or click on the link below to read the Court's decision.
By Emily E. LaMoe
Ken Blair v. Bethel School District
Emily E. LaMoe Attorney Profile
No comments:
Post a Comment