Teaching Profession

Teacher Allegedly Dismissed for Book Choices to Get Trial

By Andrew Trotter — November 15, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A decision by a federal appeals court this month allows an Ohio teacher to proceed with her lawsuit claiming she lost her job because of certain books she chose to assign to her students.

Shelley Evans-Marshall, an English teacher at Tippecanoe High School, in Tipp City, Ohio, contends that her employment contract was not renewed in 2002 because the school principal and the superintendent of the 2,600-student Tipp City district were retaliating for her exercise of her free-speech rights under the First Amendment.

She said in court papers that she had received outstanding evaluations from Principal Charles W. Wray until a public protest in the fall of 2001 against her assignments for optional reading, which she maintains were all district-approved books, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, and Siddhartha.

After about 500 people signed a petition directed against her calling for “decency in education,” the principal gave Ms. Evans-Marshall her first negative evaluation and directed her to discuss with her department head before using materials with “graphic violence, sexual themes, profanity, suicide, drugs, and alcohol,” according to court papers.

Later that school year, after she had shown her students a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” that was rated PG-13—a rating that she said was permissible under district policy—she received another poor evaluation and the school board voted not to renew her contract.

School officials said in court papers that the nonrenewal was unrelated to the controversy.

On Nov. 1, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, voted 3-0, with one judge dissenting in part, to allow Ms. Evans-Marshall’s lawsuit proceed to trial.

“Under a liberal reading of the complaint, Evans-Marshall was terminated due to a public outcry engendered by the assignment of protected material that had been approved by the board,” U.S. Circuit Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. wrote in the majority opinion. He said the school board’s approval of the teacher’s “termination is an injury that would chill First Amendment expression.”

In a partial dissent, Judge D. J. Zatkoff argued that district Superintendent John T. Zigler and Mr. Wray were entitled to immunity from personal liability in the suit.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Making Science Stick: The Engaging Power of Hands-On Learning
How can you make science class the highlight of your students’ day while
achieving learning outcomes? Find out in this session.
Content provided by LEGO Education
Teaching Profession Key Insights to Elevate and Inspire Today’s Teachers
Join this free half day virtual event to energize your teaching and cultivate a positive learning experience for students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession How Can Schools Get More Men to Be Teachers? Look to Nursing for What Works
More men are becoming nurses—offering some lessons for K-12 education.
6 min read
Male teacher figures winding their way down a career path to the entrance of a school.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Teaching Profession Three Tips to Help Mentors Work Better With Teachers
A great mentor can help novice teachers progress in their first year and prevent burnout. Here's how to boost their relationships.
3 min read
Illustration of a diverse group of 7 professionals helping one another climb a succession of large bars with some using a ladder.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Profession Opinion The One Quality That Every Great Teacher Shares
A lot has changed during my two decades as a teacher, but one thing is just as true as it was on my first day.
Eduardo Barreto
3 min read
A man carrying a big stone. Concept art of problem solution and hardness. surreal painting. conceptual artwork. 3d illustration
Jorm Sangsorn/iStock
Teaching Profession What the Research Says Want Novices to Keep Teaching? Focus on Their Classroom-Management Skills
Some skills matter more than others for educator at the start of their careers.
3 min read
A black female teacher cheerfully answers questions and provides assistance to her curious and diverse group of adolescent students as they work on an assignment in class.
E+/Getty