Teachers Are 'Public Officials,' Conn. Court Rules

By Daniel Gursky

The Connecticut Supreme Court last week issued a ruling that could make it much tougher for teachers in the state to prove they have been slandered or libeled.

In overturning a $10,000 damage award to a junior-high-school teacher who had been accused of physically and verbally abusing students, the court ruled that teachers are "public officials.'' That designation will make it more difficult for a teacher to prove character defamation because the burden of proof in such cases is greater for public officials than for private citizens.

"Robust and wide-open debate concerning the conduct of the teachers in the schools of this state is a matter of great public importance,'' Justice Robert J. Callahan wrote. "In the classroom, teachers are not mere functionaries. Rather, they conceive and apply...