Academic Freedom

Academic freedom refers to the right of teachers to teach what they want in their classrooms. This concept originated in German universities during the nineteenth century for the purpose of allowing professors to teach subjects they considered educationally appropriate. In today's elementary and secondary schools, academic freedom is limited due to the recognition that children are impressionable and could be affected by certain subject matters, based upon the children's age, experience, and readiness to understand the subject. Thus, a teacher's First Amendment right to free speech is weighed against his or her professional obligation to provide appropriate, relevant subject content consistent with the teaching assignment and the students' maturity.

In general, academic freedom is more accepted on college and university campuses than in elementary and secondary public schools. State and local school boards, state legislatures, as well as school administrators, often develop and implement curriculum policies and guidelines to manage and control what is presented in elementary and secondary classrooms. Teachers are not permitted to ignore or omit prescribed course content by asserting academic freedom. Courts have found that teachers may not use their classrooms to promote personal or political agendas, teachers may not encourage students to accept beliefs, teachers may not encourage students to attend meetings, and teachers may not provide their own opinions about certain controversial issues or disregard parents' concerns about religious groups.

Reading assignments or a teacher's use of certain words that could be considered offensive have been questioned by parents, school administrators, and school boards. However, when teachers assign readings for educational purposes that the teacher believes are respectable and published in accepted books or journals, courts generally uphold the teacher's assignment, particularly if a student can choose an alternate one. In other cases, courts have determined that while teachers have some academic freedom in choosing and using words within their educational presentations to students, they do not have a license to say or to write whatever they choose in the classroom. Often, sanctioning a teacher for inappropriate language rests upon the existence of an appropriate school rule.

When teachers issue their own personal views of controversial subjects or allow what could be considered inappropriate activities, school boards have recommended their dismissal. While teachers claim such actions infringe on their academic freedom in their classrooms, school boards, parents, or school administrators may object. Teachers have been discharged for presenting what the school administration deems inappropriate information to their classes. Teachers have been terminated for insubordination and conduct unbecoming a teacher for showing “R-rated” movies to students and for distributing information related to their personal views on controversial issues. Teachers, for example, have been fired for choosing inappropriate plays, for allowing excessive profanity in students' creative projects, and for compelling students to attend a sexually explicit AIDS awareness assembly without following the school policy of notifying parents in advance. Courts have ruled that teachers do not have a First Amendment right of academic freedom to employ classroom techniques banned by their school boards.

The U.S. Supreme Court has addressed removal of books from a school library. It determined that there are constitutionally legitimate standards that could be applied in determining a book's removal, including its relevance to the curriculum and appropriateness for student age levels. A book can be legitimately excluded from a school library if it is deemed obscene for minors, pervasively vulgar, or offensive in its language. However, school authorities may not exercise their discretion in the removal of books for political purposes or to deny students access to ideas with which school authorities disagree.

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