Academic Freedom, Garcetti & Blogging
Justin Bathon on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 9:02PM Jon Becker has an interesting discussion going on over at Educational Insanity on Blogging and Free Speech Rights. I encourage you to check it out and leave a comment. (Also, Lisa Nielsen, Teacher 2.0)
My take: Under Garcetti I wouldn't feel to comfortable about anything that you say on a blog being protected. Of course like most things in law this depends on the facts surrounding the situation (if you are blogging at home about your Disney infatuation, fine). Anyway, anything that could reasonably be related to your official job duties as a public educator is likely not protected. Now, I can't tell you exactly how far that line extends because the law is just developing in this area, but to be on the safe side I would not say anything that you would not be comfortable saying in front of the school board ... because that may ultimately be who decides your fate.
But, that is not to discourage either teachers or professors or any other public employee from blogging. I have nearly 300 posts and certainly less than 5 times I found myself asking whether I should post something. It is just not that big of an issue if you are intending to run a professional, informational blog. I am fine sharing feelings but I avoid saying negative things about my employer and I avoid making extremely controversial statements. Just remember that the blog is public (don't say things you wouldn't say in mixed company) so a healthy dose of common sense is the best guide.
Reader Comments (1)
"There is some argument that expression related to academic scholarship or classroom instruction implicates additional constitutional interests that are not fully accounted for by this Court’s customary employee-speech jurisprudence. We need not, and for that reason do not, decide whether the analysis we conduct today would apply in the same manner to a case involving speech related to scholarship or teaching."