Teacher wins the right to criticize school policies in public

ROME, Georgia (WDEF) – A Federal Court has granted an injunction against the Walker County School Board in Georgia.

The case involved a complaint about the board’s policy of limiting comments from the public at meetings.

Jim Barrett, President of the Walker County Association of Educators, filed the complaint.

He was refuse an opportunity to speak publicly against changes to grading procedures.

He claimed the district’s policy limited a teacher’s right to speak at public board meetings.

Barrett says “This ruling confirms the unconstitutional nature of the policy that was in place to be used by the superintendent.”

“The policy prohibited complaints against employees of the district. The superintendent is an employee of the district and he should have allowed me to speak against the standards. Judge Murphy correctly ruled that this was a classic case of viewpoint discrimination.”

Barret’s attorney, Gerry Weber adds “The school board’s policy allowed the superintendent to silence speech he disagreed with. Judge Murphy held that everyone, especially teachers, should be able to talk directly to their school board on issues of public concern to them and their students.”