By Sarah Ostergaard
In today’s world, a single click can cost a teacher their career. Even off the clock, in their own homes, on their personal devices, teachers live under a microscope where one “like” or comment on social media can be judged as unprofessional, disruptive, or fireable.
What could go wrong in sharing a meme, posting a statement of celebration or disappointment over election results, or writing a comment on a friend’s page about how much you enjoyed a book with a LGBTQ protagonist? Where do personal freedoms end and your professional obligations as a teacher begin? Educators have a higher standard to clear, bigger shoes to fill, less protection of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.
In Pickering v. Board of Education (1968), the U.S. Supreme Court laid out a subjective balancing test to determine if an educator’s speech is protected by the First Amendment (meaning it was ok to like or post that) or not protected (the teacher could be legally fired). Ultimately, the Court asks the question whether the teacher’s speech disrupts the school environment.
How has this been interpreted? How can a personal social media post made outside of school hours on one’s own time, at home, be determined to disrupt the school environment? These days, very easily. Americans continue in a heightened political state fraught with disagreement and argue on social media about so much.
It is clear that inflammatory words about school controversies or baseless accusations about personnel could be found to disrupt the school environment. For no one is our American freedom of speech unlimited. Personal opinions about non-school issues and current events? Re-posting a current events meme or sharing an opinion piece that has nothing to do with school is a lot less settled but lately has gotten teachers fired. We’ll see how that plays out in the court system in a few years and in the meantime, whether a teacher fired over a social media post ultimately prevails in court or not will endure a lengthy battle with high financial and emotional costs.
Regardless of the eventual legal decision, the standard to be “found guilty” by the informal, powerful, and metaphorical Court of Public Opinion is very, very low and the timeframe is swift.
This injects more uncertainty into the teaching profession and more intrusion into personal lives. Where does an individual’s right to express an opinion end and the school environment begin? It is a balancing standard that until recently, had a higher threshold. The burden of “should I post this?” can weigh heavily on conscientious teachers who want to share their support of personal causes in their free time but who find their free speech hobbled. Knowing one does not have full First Amendment rights, or that time, energy, and money could be needed to defend a social media post if anyone, anywhere, might find it offensive, is another nail in the coffin of attracting and retaining high-quality teachers. And it trickles up: this type of additional uncertainty is another reason school boards and superintendents need to hire building principals with integrity, grit, and real leadership skills.
We have started yet another school year with grave concerns about the reputation of the teaching field. In this divisive climate with limits on personal speech, it is possible teachers’ reputations could be tarnished, teachers could be fired, or teachers could decide to move on to a different career where they won’t be criticized for having a brain with opinions.
Whether in the real court, in conference with school administration, or in a private community group, teachers do not have full First Amendment rights of freedom of speech online. Take care, then, educators, to keep your personal posts as private and secure as possible. Review your draft posts with a watchful eye to protect your reputation and your livelihood from zealous fomenters of discontent.
