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• Renee v. Spellings, No. 07-4299 (N.D. Cal. Jun. 17, 2008) [HTML 4,965kb]
  A U.S. district court in California has ruled that a U.S. Department of Education (ED) regulation defining teachers-in-training who are participating in an alternative route to certification program as “highly qualified” under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) does not conflict with the NCLB requirement that “highly qualified” teachers have “full state certification as a teacher.”
  
• Kentucky Retirement Systems v. EEOC, No. 06-1037 (U.S. Jun. 19, 2008) [HTML 6,596kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a public retirement system does not violate the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by basing eligibility for disability retirement benefits on age and service years.
  
• Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, No. 06-1505 (U.S. Jun. 19, 2008) [HTML 5,492kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that employers bear both the burden of production and the burden of persuasion when they defend against federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claims of disparate impact on older employees by arguing that their decisions were based on permissible “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA).
  
• Filar v. Bd. of Educ. of Chicago, No. 07-1275 (7th Cir. May 22, 2008) [HTML 3,407kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, WI) has ruled that a 69-year-old teacher’s Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) challenge to her reassignment from full-time teacher to roving substitute teacher can proceed, but it has rejected her claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  
• Supreme Court puts burden on employer defending age discrimination claim [HTML 5,353kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that employers bear both the burden of production and the burden of persuasion when they defend against federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claims of disparate impact on older employees by arguing that their decisions were based on permissible "reasonable factors other than age" (RFOA).
  
• Supreme Court rules Kentucky retirement system does not violate ADEA [HTML 6,386kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a public retirement system does not violate the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by basing eligibility for disability retirement benefits on age and service years.
  
• Engquist v. Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, No. 07-474 (U.S. Jun. 9, 2008) [HTML 8,557kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, 6-3, that the “class-of-one” theory of equal protection does not apply in the public employment context.
  
• Samuelson v. LaPorte Cmty. Sch. Corp., No. 06-4351 (7th Cir. May 22, 2008) [HTML 3,739kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, WI) has ruled that a teacher failed to establish that the nonrenewal of his coaching contract was in retaliation for his having exercised his free speech rights.
  
• Moore v. Forrest City Sch. Dist., No. 07-2206 (8th Cir. May 7, 2008) [HTML 3,202kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) has ruled that an Arkansas school district and its superintendent did not racially discriminate against a teacher when they repeatedly declined to promote her to an assistant principal position.
  
• Lewis v. School Dist. #70, No. 06-4435 (7th Cir. Apr. 17, 2008) [HTML 5,234kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, WI) has ruled that a former Illinois school district bookkeeper can bring a claim for retaliation under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) over her removal from her position when she was taking intermittent leave.
  
• Almontaser v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 07-5468 (2d Cir. Mar. 20, 2008) [HTML 5,368kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (CT, NY, VT) has ruled that comments made by high school interim principal in a newspaper interview did not constitute speech on a matter of public concern.
  
• Myles v. Richmond County Bd. of Educ., No. 07-14468 (11th Cir. Mar. 6, 2008) [HTML 2,887kb]
  In an unpublished per curiam decision (one issued by the court without identifying an authoring judge), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (AL, GA, FL) has ruled that although a Georgia employee’s complaints about the appointment of unqualified persons to positions in the school district touched on an important matter of public interest, they did not a constitute speech on a matter of public concern and, therefore, were not entitled to First Amendment protection.
  
• Board of Dir. of Ames Cmty. Sch. Dist., No. 05-1059 (Iowa Feb. 29, 2008) [HTML 4,401kb]
  The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a school board had “just cause” for terminating a high school basketball coach’s contract.
  
• Policastro v. Kontogiannis, No. 06-1471 (3d Cir. Jan. 24, 2008) [HTML 4,246kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (PA, NJ, DE, V.I.) in a non-precedential decision, has ruled that a New Jersey school board’s policy restricting the use of teacher mailboxes to school business did not violate a teacher’s free speech rights, either on the policy’s face or as applied in this case.
  
• Utah Educ. Assoc. v. Shurtleff, No. 06-4142 (10th Cir. Jan. 10, 2008) [HTML 4,321kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY) has invalidated Utah’s Voluntary Contributions Act (VCA) as that act applies to independent local government entities and school districts.
  
• Bonner Sch. Dist. No. 14 v. Bonner Educ. Assoc., No. 06-0724 (Mont. Jan. 15, 2008) [HTML 4,263kb]
  The Montana Supreme Court has ruled that teacher transfers and assignments are “other conditions of employment” subject to mandatory bargaining under Montana’s Collective Bargaining for Public Employees Act (CBPEA).
  
• Hankinson v. Thomas County Sch. System, No. 07-11948 (11th Cir. Dec. 3, 2007) [HTML 2,747kb]
  In an unpublished per curiam decision (one issued by the court without identifying the authoring judge), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (AL, GA, FL) has ruled that a female high school softball coach failed to state a valid employment discrimination claim under Title VII because she was unable to show that the employer’s nondiscriminatory reason for her dismissal was a pretext for sex discrimination.
  
• Price v. Saugerties Central Sch. Dist., No. 06-1420 (N.D. N.Y. Sept. 12, 2007) [HTML 3,425kb]
  A federal district court in New York has ruled that a former teacher and three community activists lacked legal standing to challenge a school district’s communications protocol regulating teacher speech.
  
• Pocatello Educ. Ass’n v. Heideman, No. 06-35004 (9th Cir. Oct. 5, 2007) [HTML 3,042kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, GU, MP) has ruled that Idaho’s 2003 Voluntary Contributions Act (VCA), which bans payroll deductions from employees’ wages for political activities, violates the First Amendment as applied to local government and school district employees.
  
• D’Angelo v. School Bd. of Polk County, Fla., No. 06-13582 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2007) [HTML 4,443kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (AL, FL, GA) has ruled that a Florida school board did not violate a principal’s First Amendment rights to free speech, to petition the government for redress, and to freedom of association when it allegedly fired him for his efforts to convert his school to a charter school.
  
• Wagner v. Tuscarora Sch. Dist., No. 06-1544 (3d Cir. March 14, 2007) [HTML 2,213kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (PA, NJ, DE, VI) has ruled that a Pennsylvania teacher was not denied his due process rights to notice and a hearing before being terminated, because the meeting at which he was suspended did not, as he argued, constitute a “de facto” termination hearing.
  
• Kodl v. Board of Education School District 45, Villa Park, No. 06-336 (7th Cir. June 4, 2007) [HTML 5,255kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, WI) affirmed a district court’s summary judgment ruling where a physical education teacher alleged sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and age discrimination and retaliation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).
  
• Davenport v. Washington Educ. Assoc., No. 05-1589, Washington v. Washington Educ. Assoc., No. 05-1657 (U,S. June 14, 2007) [HTML 4,575kb]
  In a unanimous decision the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a state law requiring public-sector unions to receive affirmative authorization from a nonmember before spending that nonmember’s agency fees for election related purposes does not violate the First Amendment.
  
• Ramirez v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 481 F.Supp.2d 209 (E.D.N.Y. March 30, 2007) [HTML 3,632kb]
  A U.S. district court in New York ruled in March that a teacher diagnosed with epilepsy, depression, high blood pressure, and arrhythmia, all of which contributed to his excessive absenteeism, was not “disabled” within the meaning of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that, even if he were disabled, he was not a “qualified individual” under the act.
  
• Burns v. Adirondack Central School District, __ F. Supp.2d __ , 2006 WL 3007704 (N.D. N.Y. Oct. 23, 2006) [HTML 2,666kb]
  A New York federal district court has ruled that a school district secretary had a valid First Amendment retaliation claim because her public support for a candidate for the school board was protected speech.
  
• AARP v. EEOC, No. 05-4594 (3d Cir. June 4, 2007) [HTML 6,208kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (PA, NJ, DE, VI) has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has the authority to create an exemption under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to allow employers to offer retirees health plans that are coordinated with Medicare.
  
• Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., No. 05-1074 (U.S. May 29, 2007) [HTML 4,379kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that for purposes of calculating an employee’s 180-day time limit for bringing a Title VII claim, the employer’s initial unlawful decision to set the employee’s pay, rather than each subsequent issuance of a paycheck based on the earlier discrimination, counts as the “unlawful employment practice” that starts the clock running.
  
• Independence-Nat’l Educ. Assoc. v. Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 87980 (Mo. May 29, 2007) [HTML 4,031kb]
  The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that public employees have the right under the state constitution to organize and bargain collectively on the same basis as private-sector employees.
  
• Ferrell v. Gwinnett County Bd. of Educ., 2007 WL 962853 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 30, 2007) [HTML 4,007kb]
  A federal district court in Georgia has ruled that police officers employed by a school district as school resource officers (SROs) are exempt employees within the meaning of the federal Fair Standards Labor Act (FLSA) and, therefore, not entitled to overtime pay.
  
• McGuire v. Warren, No. 06-0135, 2006 WL 3456538 (2d Cir. Nov. 30, 2006) [HTML 3,296kb]
  In an unpublished opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in November that a special education contractor’s speech, which she alleged was the basis for retaliation, could not be considered protected speech made as a citizen, because she herself asserted that the speech was made pursuant to her responsibilities as a contractor.
  
• Casey v. West Las Vegas Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 06-2054 (10th Cir. Jan. 24, 2007) [HTML 4,980kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ruled that a former New Mexico superintendent who was demoted and then terminated failed to state a valid claim of retaliation for exercise of her free speech rights with respect to allegations she made to the school board about school district violations of various state and federal laws.
  
• Deshenie v. Board of Educ. of Central Consolidated Sch. Dist. No. 22, No. 05-2270 (10th Cir. Jan. 22, 2007) [HTML 4,860kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ruled that a former New Mexico school district employee did not state a valid First Amendment retaliation claim, because she failed to establish that certain instances of her speech were protected and that those that were protected were causally related to the adverse employment actions taken by the school board.
  
• Mayer v. Monroe County Cmty. Sch. Corp., No. 06-1993 (7th Cir. Jan. 24, 2007) [HTML 5,099kb]
  In a short, unanimous panel decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a public elementary school teacher’s free speech rights were not violated when she was prohibited from expressing her opinion of the war in Iraq during instructional time.
  
• Houlihan v. Sussex Technical Sch. Dist., 2006 WL 3349534 (D. Del. Nov. 16, 2006) [HTML 3,923kb]
  A U.S. district court in Delaware has ruled that a former school psychologist who was terminated after complaining about the school’s noncompliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) stated a valid legal cause of action for retaliation under the federal Rehabilitation Act, but not under the First Amendment.
  
• Segal v. City of New York, No. 05-3211 (2d Cir. August 3, 2006) [HTML 3,494kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has concluded that the availability of a post-termination name-clearing hearing is sufficient to defeat a "stigma-plus" wrongful termination claim by a probationary teacher who is an at-will employee.
  
• Bailey v. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, No. 05-2448 (8th Cir. June 23, 2006) [HTML 2,845kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the termination of an employee's contract despite his claim that he was fired for speech on a matter of public concern.
  
• Weisberg v. Riverside Township Board of Education, No. 04-4533 (3d Cir. May 11, 2006) [HTML 3,188kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that an employee's impairment brought on by post-concussion syndrome does not classify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, No. 05-259 (June 22, 2006) [HTML 5,756kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the anti-retaliation provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from engaging in actions that a reasonable employee would find materially adverse, which includes conduct that would "dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination."
  
• Garcetti v. Ceballos, No. 04-473 (U.S. May 30, 2006) [HTML 6,139kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that statements made by a deputy district attorney in the course of his official duties were not protected from employer discipline because the employee was not speaking as a citizen for purposes of the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees.
  
• Cioffi v. Averill Park Central School District, 2006 WL 853259 (2d Cir. Apr. 4, 2006) [HTML 10,988kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a high school athletic director has a valid cause of action against a New York school district for retaliation when it eliminated his position after he spoke publicly about a hazing incident involving members of the football team and the district’s handling of the incident. Louis Cioffi was employed by Averill Park Central School District (APCSD) as athletic director/director of physical education at Averill Park Central High School (APCHS).
  
• Mayer v. Monroe County Community School Corporation, No. 04-1695 (S.D. Ind. March 10, 2006) [HTML 4,017kb]
  An Indiana U.S. district court has ruled that a teacher's free speech rights were not violated when she was prohibited from expressing her opinion of the war in Iraq during instructional time.