Jeena Lee-Walker v. New York City Department of Education, et al.

Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006) held that public workers speaking on job duties are not “addressing matters of public concern,” id. at 407, thus are unprotected by the First Amendment. Justice Souter dissented, warning that Garcetti could extend to schools and universities, chilling academic freedom. Id., at 431, n.2. Justice Kennedy agreed that “academic scholarship or classroom instruction implicates” constitutional concerns, but held this was not at issue in Garcetti, and disputed Justice Souter’s contention. Id. at 425-26. The Circuits handle academic speech in many ways: • The Second and Seventh Circuits consistently dismiss teacher-speech actions on qualified immunity. • The Fourth and Ninth Circuits read Justice Kennedy’s exception broadly, allowing public professors relief if their job duties pertain to “scholarship or teaching.” • The Sixth Circuit applies Garcetti to all educational matters: free speech has no bearing on pedagogy. The Third Circuit has always so held. This Petition presents these Questions:

1. Do state-employed pedagogues enjoy the protections of free speech in academia, given Justice Kennedy’s response to Justice Souter’s point on that issue in Garcetti v. Ceballos?

2. If not, does the First Amendment protect a teacher or professor in a public school or university?