Public Schools, Retaliation, School Districts

School Director’s First Amendment Rights Not Violated When Board and Superintendent Criticize his Offensive Social Media Posts

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 3/13/2025

Detschelt v. Norwin School District 23-cv-1402 (W.D. Pa. Dec. 20, 2024). The District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismisses complaint filed by school director which alleged that statement issued by the...more

Federal Court in North Carolina Tackles Associational Discrimination Claim Brought by Teacher With Disabled Son

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 3/12/2020

On February 26, 2020, in the case of Schmitz v. Alamance-Burlington Board of Education, the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss claims...more

Immorality Illustrated: Court Affirms Principal’s Termination After Second DUI Arrest

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 3/15/2019

Moffitt v. Tunkhannock Area School District, 192 A.3d 1214 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Aug. 18, 2018). The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed an elementary school principal’s termination, because sufficient evidence supported...more

Student’s Physical Assault of Alleged Harasser Does Not Constitute Protected Activity Under Title IX

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 1/3/2019

Sanchez v. Brawley Elementary School District, 719 Fed. Appx. 723 (9th Cir. 2018) The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s ruling that a student’s conduct of kneeing her alleged harasser did not constitute...more

No Retaliation Claim For IT Employee Fired After Criticizing School District

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 9/17/2018

Wolgast v. Tawas Area Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 16-2240 (6th Cir. 05/25/17): The Court dismissed the retaliation claim of an IT employee who was terminated following comments criticizing his employer, a public school district....more

Teacher’s Verbal Abuse of Student Does Not Rise to “Conscious-Shocking” Level Necessary to Support Due Process Claim

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 6/20/2016

L.H. and C.H. v. Pittston Area Sch. Dist., 130 F. Supp. 3d 918 (M.D. Pa 2015) (Decided September 10, 2015). The District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania determined that verbal abuse by a teacher, by itself,...more

When Is A School District “Deliberately Indifferent” To Student Discrimination Claims?

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on 10/2/2015

When a student alleges discrimination within the school environment, the school district may be held liable if it was “deliberately indifferent” to the discrimination. Three recent cases involving allegations of sexual...more

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