High Court Declines to Hear Two School Free-Speech Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear two appeals involving the free-speech rights of educators involving school matters.
In acting on more than 1,900 appeals on Oct. 7, the first day of its new term, the court rejected a request from a Kentucky school district to uphold its right to fire a 5th grade teacher for giving lessons about industrial hemp. And it refused to hear the appeal of a Wisconsin elementary school principal who was demoted after she clashed with teachers in her school over a state grant application.
The Kentucky case has attracted attention because it involved a tenured
teacher, Donna Cockrel, who invited actor Woody Harrelson to discuss
industrial hemp with her class at Simpsonville Elementary School in the
5,200-student Shelby County district. Mr. Harrelson is an advocate of
industrial hemp, which can be harvested for products such as paper and
clothing. But Kentucky is among states that outlaw industrial hemp
because it has small amounts of the narcotic ingredient found in its...
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