Assignment #2

Assigment #2

Reyna Franco

College of Southern Nevada

Assignment #2

Can a teacher say a racial comment when being in a heated conversation without meaning

it? In this scenario, Ann Griffin, a white tenured teacher, during a heated conversation with the

two administrators, Freddie Watts, principal, and Jimmy Brothers, assistant principal, who are

African-American administrators assigned to administer a predominantly black high school,

stated that she “hated all black folks.” When word leaked on her statement, it caused negative

reactions among colleagues both black and white. The principal recommended dismissal based

on concerns regarding her ability to treat students fairly and her judgment and competency as a

teacher.

One court case that supports Griffin is Brown v. Chicago Board of Education, No. 15-1857

(7th Cir. 2016). In this court case a Chicago teacher was suspended for saying the “n-word” in

front of sixth graders. A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois refused Sept. 25 to

dismiss a middle-school teacher’s First Amendment challenge to a suspension imposed after he

used the racially offensive word as part of a cautionary classroom discussion. There was no

allegation that English teacher Lincoln Brown directed the word toward any student as an insult

to the contrary, he was lecturing students about not using the term but the school district

suspended him for five days for violating a rule against “using verbally abusive language.” This

case relates to the scenario in that Watts is trying to punish Griffin “based on concerns regarding

her ability to treat students fairly and her judgment and competency as a teacher.” When she was

just upset and didn’t mean to direct it towards anybody.

Another court case that supports Griffin is, Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593 (1972). In

this court case a teacher Robert Sindermann, worked as a junior college professor under a series

of one-year written contracts. In May 1969, after the expiration of his teaching contract,

Sindermann was not offered a new contract and terminated by the college's Board of Regents.
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Sindermann filed suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He

alleged that his termination was due to his disagreements with the Board of Regents, a violation

of his First Amendment right to free speech, and that the lack of a hearing violated his

Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. The outcome of this case is that he Court affirmed

the Fifth Circuit and held that Sindermann was entitled to a full trial in federal District Court and

a hearing before the Board of Regents. This case relates to Griffin because it states that she has a

freedom of speech and expression.

One court case that supports Watts decision is A.B. v. Rhinebeck Central School District &

Thomas Mawhinney. In this case four former high school students, along with a staff member,

accused a former principal of sexual harassment of female students. The District's Motion to

Dismiss is denied and the Government's Motion to Intervene is granted. The reason that this case

applies to Griffin’s is that it can be seen that Griffins comment can make students feel unsafe.

Another court case that supports Watts decision is, Falcon School District 49, In 2008, the

U.S. Department of Justice began investigating Colorado Springs' Falcon School District 49 in

response to complaints that the District was not adequately responding to incidents of racial

harassment and discrimination in its schools. On January 25, 2010, the parties executed a

settlement agreement to resolve the United States' concerns. The modified settlement agreement

requires the District to adequately address incidents of racial harassment by keeping adequate

records, analyzing those records, training teachers and students, and providing appropriate

disciplinary responses. This case can be applied to the scenario because Watts can be accused of

not having a safe environment when it comes to race.

In my opinion, Ann’s opinion could create a material disruption to the educational interest of

the school district because it creates a negative impact on the school. This type of personal
Assignment #2

speech adversely affected working relationships. She was speaking as an employee of the

district. She was speaking unprofessionally and created a material and substantial disruption in

the school setting based on the negative reaction of colleagues in the school setting.
Assignment #2

References

Brown v. Chicago Board of Education, No. 15-1857 (7th Cir. 2016)

Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593 (1972).

A.B. v. Rhinebeck Central School District & Thomas Mawhinney. 224 F.R.D. 144 (S.D.N.Y.

2004).

Falcon School District 49, In 2008