ADVERSE EMPLOYMENT ACTIONS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL ...

Case Year State Action PP Litigative Claim
Floyd v. Amite
Co. School Dist.
Corbett v.
Duering
2009 MS T S Floyd claimed that his termination for failed
leadership based on negligence and incompetence
was a First Amendment associational retaliation
violation against Floyd for associating with white
students at a summer track program held at the
school.
2010 WV T S Corbett claimed that his termination was a violation
of the First Amendment because he refused to “make
deals’ in regard to discipline with students with
influential parents, and he alleged that the
superintendent retaliated against him for his speech
and failure to acquiesce.
The cases identified with First Amendment claims all revolve around some form of
retaliation by the school board and or superiors for some form of speech. As it was mentioned
previously, the schools won--at least in part--on almost all claims. These victories varied for a
couple of reasons. First, administrators made claims of protected speech which were actually
examples of them speaking as school officials. Therefore, the speech was not protected as it was
part of their job and therefore not insulated language.
Table 55
First Amendment Claims--Administrator Spoke as School Official
Case Year State Action PP
Vargas-Harrison v. Racine Unified School Dist. 2001 WI T S
Finch v. Fort Bend Ind. School Dist. 2003 TX R S
Howard v. Columbia Pub. School Dist. 2004 MO NR S
D’Angelo v. School Bd. 2007 FL T S
King v. Charleston Co. School Dist. 2009 SC R S
The cases displayed in Table 55 are distinguished because the speech of each
administrator was carried out in his or her official capacity as a school leader. This type of
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