Pickering v. Board of Education
Encyclopedia
Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563
(1968), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
held that in the absence of proof of the teacher knowingly or recklessly making false statements the teacher had a right to speak on issues of public importance without being dismissed from his position. The case was later distinguished by Garcetti v. Ceballos
, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), where the Court held that statements by public employees made pursuant to their employment have no First Amendment protection.
Pickering involved a Township High School teacher who was dismissed after writing a letter to a local newspaper which criticised how the Township Board of Education and the district superintendent had handled past proposals to raise new revenue for the schools. The claim that his writing the letter was protected by the First
and Fourteenth Amendment
s was rejected by the Board of Education. He appealed the Board's action to the Circuit Court of Will County
and then to the Supreme Court of Illinois
, which both affirmed his dismissal. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed the teacher's First Amendment right to free speech were violated and reversed the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court.
In May 1964, the Board proposed and submitted to the voters an increase in the tax rate for educational purposes, which was defeated. On September 19, 1964, a second proposal to increase the tax rate was submitted by the Board, and was similarly defeated.
Prior to the vote on the September 1964 tax increase proposal, various newspaper articles appeared in the local paper which were attributed to the District 205 Teachers' Organization. Those articles urged passage of the proposal and stated that failure to pass the increase would result in a decline in the quality of education afforded children in the district's schools. Also, a letter making the same point from the superintendent of schools was published in the paper two days before the election, and copies of the letter were given to the voters the following day.
After the proposal failed, Marvin L. Pickering, appellant and a teacher in the District, wrote a letter to the editor in response to the material from the Teachers' Organization and the superintendent. The letter was an attack on the Board's handling of the 1961 bond proposals and its subsequent allocation of financial resources between the schools' educational and athletic programs. It also charged the superintendent of schools with trying to prevent teachers from speaking out against the proposed bond issue. Pickering was dismissed by the Board for writing and publishing the letter.
Under Illinois law, the Board was then required to hold a hearing on the dismissal where it stated that numerous statements in the letter were false and that the publication of the statements:
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1968), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
held that in the absence of proof of the teacher knowingly or recklessly making false statements the teacher had a right to speak on issues of public importance without being dismissed from his position. The case was later distinguished by Garcetti v. Ceballos
Garcetti v. Ceballos
Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the First Amendment free speech protections for government employees. The plaintiff in the case was a district attorney who claimed that he had been passed up for a promotion for criticizing the...
, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), where the Court held that statements by public employees made pursuant to their employment have no First Amendment protection.
Pickering involved a Township High School teacher who was dismissed after writing a letter to a local newspaper which criticised how the Township Board of Education and the district superintendent had handled past proposals to raise new revenue for the schools. The claim that his writing the letter was protected by the First
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
s was rejected by the Board of Education. He appealed the Board's action to the Circuit Court of Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...
and then to the Supreme Court of Illinois
Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
, which both affirmed his dismissal. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed the teacher's First Amendment right to free speech were violated and reversed the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Background of the case
In February 1961 the Township Board of Education asked the voters of Township High School District 205 to approve a bond issue to raise $4,875,000 to erect two new schools, which was defeated. In December 1961, the Board again submitted a bond proposal to the voters for $5,500,000 to build two new schools, which passed and the two schools were built with the money.In May 1964, the Board proposed and submitted to the voters an increase in the tax rate for educational purposes, which was defeated. On September 19, 1964, a second proposal to increase the tax rate was submitted by the Board, and was similarly defeated.
Prior to the vote on the September 1964 tax increase proposal, various newspaper articles appeared in the local paper which were attributed to the District 205 Teachers' Organization. Those articles urged passage of the proposal and stated that failure to pass the increase would result in a decline in the quality of education afforded children in the district's schools. Also, a letter making the same point from the superintendent of schools was published in the paper two days before the election, and copies of the letter were given to the voters the following day.
After the proposal failed, Marvin L. Pickering, appellant and a teacher in the District, wrote a letter to the editor in response to the material from the Teachers' Organization and the superintendent. The letter was an attack on the Board's handling of the 1961 bond proposals and its subsequent allocation of financial resources between the schools' educational and athletic programs. It also charged the superintendent of schools with trying to prevent teachers from speaking out against the proposed bond issue. Pickering was dismissed by the Board for writing and publishing the letter.
Under Illinois law, the Board was then required to hold a hearing on the dismissal where it stated that numerous statements in the letter were false and that the publication of the statements:
"unjustifiably impugned the 'motives, honesty, integrity, truthfulness, responsibility and competence' of both the Board and the school administration. The Board also charged that the false statements damaged the professional reputations of its members and of the school administrators, would be disruptive of faculty discipline, and would tend to foment 'controversy, conflict and dissension' among teachers, administrators, the Board of Education, and the residents of the district."Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968)A variety of witnesses on the truth or falsity of the particular statements in the letter with which the Board took issue. The Board found the statements to be false as charged. However, the Board made no further findings or introduced evidence that went beyond the falsity of Pickering's statements.
External links
391 U.S. 563 Full text of the opinion courtesy of Findlaw.com.- "Pickering still rules roost in First Amendment law," Fire ChiefFire Chief (magazine)Fire Chief is a magazine that was established in 1956. The magazine examines issues that are of particular importance to managers of fire departments. The magazine has the ISSN 0015-2552. It is published in Chicago by Penton Media. The volumes for May 1968-Nov. 1991 were called also whole no....
, June 1, 2002. Accessed July 27, 2007.