In Rachel L. Carr v. PennDOT and Pa. State Civil Commission, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently overturned a Commonwealth Court’s decision that held a probationary PennDOT employee’s First Amendment rights to free speech were violated when PennDOT fired her for a post on Facebook about school bus drivers. In cases surrounding the termination or discipline of a public employee for their … [Read more...] about PA Supreme Court Overturns Case of PennDOT Employee Who Made Threatening Facebook Post
First Amendment
Is It Constitutional for a School to Discipline Student Athletes Who Take a Knee in Protest?
Kneeling during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice in America started in professional sports in 2016, when San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Colin Kaepernick began to kneel during the national anthem in protest of police treatment of black Americans. The protests were met with virulent criticism; calling his actions unpatriotic and disrespectful to the military and veterans. … [Read more...] about Is It Constitutional for a School to Discipline Student Athletes Who Take a Knee in Protest?
Third Circuit Tells Schools Hands Off Students’ Off-Campus Speech
In a controversial June 30, 2020 decision, the three judges of the Third Circuit re-interpreted the reach of public schools’ power to regulate, or to discipline students for, off-campus speech posted online. The result of this decision is that within Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, the states in the Third Circuit, students’ off-campus speech, even if crude, offensive, or puerile, is … [Read more...] about Third Circuit Tells Schools Hands Off Students’ Off-Campus Speech
