fowler v board of education of lincoln county

-The district court ruled in favor of Fowler, concluding that her actions are indeed protected under the First Amendment. In fact, Mrs. Fowler was not discharged because she entertained her students: she was discharged because the school board did not like the content of the movie. 1982) is misplaced. ), cert. at 3165 (emphasis supplied). In Fowler, a high school teacher, at the request of her students, showed them Pink Floyd The Wall, an "R" rated film containing nudity and a great deal of violence, on the last day of school while she completed grade cards. Another shows police brutality. The District Court held that the school board failed to carry this Mt. This segment of the film was shown in the morning session. Healthy case as precedent to decide whether the school board in that case acted properly in removing books from the school library. One particularly controversial segment of scenes is animated in which flowers appear on the screen, are transformed into the shape of male and female sex organs and then engage in an act of intercourse. 1987 Edwards v. Aguillard. Joint Appendix at 129-30. Joint Appendix at 83-84. The court rejected plaintiff's vagueness challenge on the ground that his behavior "was sufficiently odd and suggestive that the ordinary person would know, in advance, that his image as an elementary school teacher would be gravely jeopardized." Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Pickering v. The two appeals court judges in the majority upheld the firing for different reasons. Rather, the proper focus of our inquiry is whether Fowler was engaged in expressive activity protected by the First Amendment, and nothing in the record would indicate that she was so engaged. The board viewed the movie once in its entirety and once as it had been edited in the classroom. 2727, 2730, 41 L.Ed.2d 842 (1974). 1117 (1931) (display of red flag is expressive conduct). 161.790(1)(b). Emergency Coalition v. U.S. Dept. There is conflicting testimony as to whether, or how much, nudity was seen by the students. At the administrative hearing, several students testified that they saw no nudity. She testified that, despite the fact that she had never seen the movie before having it shown to her students, and despite the fact that she was posting grades on report cards and left the room several times while the movie was being shown, she believed it had significant value. Stephen Fowler/Georgia Public Broadcasting As a half-dozen voting rights advocates filed into the Lincoln County Board of Elections to deliver a petition that temporarily halted plans to. Jacqueline Fowler had worked in the Lincoln County, Ky., school system for 14 years when she was fired in July 1984 for insubordination and conduct unbecoming a teacher. Plaintiff Fowler received her termination notice on or about June 19, 1984. Moreover, there is testimony supporting the fact that more editing was done in the afternoon showing than in the morning showing. In addition to the sexual aspects of the movie, there is a great deal of violence. They also found the movie objectionable because of its sexual content, vulgar language, and violence. 1970), is misplaced. Summary of this case from Fowler v. Board of Education of Lincoln County. 1628 (1943) (flag salute), are inapposite because they involve examples of symbolic expression, not verbal communication, and articulate guidelines for determining what symbolic acts may constitute expression. 1968), modified, 425 F.2d 469 (D.C. at 576. The clerk who rented the "R" rated tape to Fowler told her that there was some nudity in the movie during a song called "Young Lust" and warned that she might wish to delete that section. . On the list of instructional materials approved by the Tulare County Board of Education (search at www.erslibrary.org), or Bryan, John C. Fogle, argued, Mt. Sch. See Minarcini v. Strongsville City School Dist., 541 F.2d 577 (6th Cir. 1178, 1183, 87 L.Ed. Ms. Fowler, a former teacher of the year at the school who taught civics and Latin, said she did not watch the movie herself before showing it to the students. See Schad v. Mt. of Treasury, Civil Action No. Another scene shows children being fed into a giant sausage machine. 736; James, 461 F.2d at 571. United States District Courts. 08-10557. board could dismiss a tenured high school teacher with 14 years of experience for insubordination and conduct unbecoming an educator for showing Pink Floyd: The Wall on the last day of the academic year considered a noninstructional day (Fowler v. Board of Education of Lincoln County, Ky. 1987a, 1987b). . When Fowler had the movie shown on the morning of May 31, 1984, she instructed Charles Bailey, the fifteen-year-old student who had seen the movie, to edit out any parts that were unsuitable for viewing at school. Ky.Rev.Stat. Plaintiff Jacqueline Fowler was a tenured teacher employed by the Lincoln County, Kentucky, school system for fourteen years. VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. Following this executive session, the board returned to open session and voted unanimously to terminate plaintiff's employment for insubordination and conduct unbecoming a teacher. Plaintiff cross-appeals from the holding that K.R.S. at 2805-06, 2809. District Court Opinion at 23. The students had asked to see the film. of Educ. He did so by attempting to cover the 25" screen with an 8 1/2" by 11" letter-sized file folder. 529, 34 L.Ed.2d 491 (1972). CASE TITLE:Fowler v. Board of Education of Lincoln County Kentucky CITATION: Fowler v. Board of Education of Lincoln County, 819 F.2d 657 (Sixth Circuit, 1987) FACTSA tenured teacher's employment was ended because she had an "R" rated movie, Pink Floyd--The Wall,shown to her high school students on the last day of the school year. Healthy standard to decide whether Ms. Fowler's discharge violated the First Amendment, but erred in its finding that, but for Ms. Fowler's constitutionally protected activity of communicating various ideas and political thoughts to her students, she would not have been fired. v. Fraser further supported the school board's authority to take action against conduct it considered vulgar and offensive and disruptive of the educational process. On its distinctive facts, Fowler v. Board of Education Lincoln County, Kentucky' is almost ideally suited as a vehicle for reex- amining some of the "deeper" issues associated with in-school speech of public high school teachers in particular and with free speech law in general. Bd. enjoys First Amendment protection"). Assuming that the school board could have properly discharged Mrs. Fowler for poor judgment and lack of remorse in showing an "R-rated" movie which had short scenes depicting nudity and sexual foreplay, but not for the other reasons given, this case must be decided under the "mixed-motive" analysis of Mt. In its opinion, the district court relied upon the analytical framework provided by the, Request a trial to view additional results. A group of students requested that Fowler allow the movie to be shown while she was completing the grade cards. They also found the movie objectionable because of its sexual content, vulgar language, and violence. 2727, 2729-31, 41 L.Ed.2d 842 (1974) (per curiam) (display of flag with peace symbol attached was expressive conduct entitled to protection under First Amendment); Tinker, 393 U.S. at 505, 89 S.Ct. Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document. Even when the actor does intend to communicate a message by his conduct, a governmental interest in regulating the nonspeech aspect of such conduct may justify incidental restrictions on the speech aspect as well. Sterling, Ky., for defendants-appellants, cross-appellees. While this is a general principle of law espoused by the Supreme Court on several occasions, the Court has also indicated that in determining whether a given type of entertainment is protected by the First Amendment, it will look to the kind of entertainment involved and the appropriateness of the entertainment under the circumstances such as the time and place where offered. As the District Court correctly found, the school board in this case had to negate the testimony of its own members that the determinative causative factor in Mrs. Fowler's discharge was her decision to allow "antieducation, antifamily, antijudiciary, and antipolice" views to be expressed in her classroom. 1, Once again, there is conflicting testimony concerning the effectiveness of the editing attempt. 1098 (1952). Ms. Fowler's after the fact rationalizations for having shown the film cannot alter the fact that she used poor judgment and should not shield her from the consequences. Andrew Tony Fowler in 2021 was employed in FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and had annual salary of $99,765 according to public records. . at p. 664. The students in Fowler's classes were in grades nine through eleven and were of the ages fourteen through seventeen. 1977) ("immorality" standard not vague as applied to teacher discharged for making sexual advances toward his students). 2176, 68 L.Ed.2d 671 (1981), and Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting casting Co., 433 U.S. 562, 97 S.Ct. The district court concluded that plaintiff was not insubordinate because she did not violate any established rule or regulation, nor did she refuse to obey the directions of her superiors. The clerk who rented the "R" rated tape to Fowler told her that there was some nudity in the movie during a song called "Young Lust" and warned that she might wish to delete that section. Healthy standard, a public employee establishes a prima facie case of a constitutional violation if she shows that she was engaged in protected activity, and that such activity was a substantial or motivating factor in the decision to terminate her employment. She said the store clerk who rented it to her told her it contained some nudity but also dealt with social issues of importance to teen-agers. In the present case, it is undisputed that Fowler did not see the movie before she had it shown to her class on the morning of May 31, 1984, a noninstructional day. either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application." Judge Milburn states further that "plaintiff's conduct in having the movie shown cannot be considered expressive or communicative. 161.790(1), which proscribes conduct unbecoming a teacher, is unconstitutionally vague as applied to her conduct. 2799, 73 L.Ed.2d 435 (1982). After the movie was viewed by the superintendent and members of the Lincoln County Board of Education, proceedings were instituted to terminate Fowler's contract. Plaintiff Fowler received her termination notice on or about June 19, 1984. Breen v. Kahl, 419 F.2d 1034 (1969); Crews v. Cloncs, 432 F.2d 1259 (1970). Joint Appendix at 114, 186-87. 1953, 1957, 32 L.Ed.2d 584 (1972). The court disagreed, concluding that "[t]he regulations prescribing a teacher's speech and conduct are necessarily broad; they cannot possibly mention every type of misconduct." 215, 221, 97 L.Ed. Justice Brennan restated the test to decide intent and asserted: Pico, 477 U.S. at 871, 102 S.Ct. In this appeal, defendants contend that the district court erred in its conclusion that plaintiff's discharge violated her First Amendment rights. School Dist., 439 U.S. 410, 99 S.Ct. The dissent relies upon Schad v. Mt. 302, 307 (E.D.Tex. I do not believe an argument based on intertwining can be used to suppress protected speech; vulgarity should not be allowed to subsume that which is protected. 1552, 51 L.Ed.2d 775 (1977); diLeo v. Greenfield, 541 F.2d 949 (2d Cir. Bethel School District No. I would also question the notion that an explanation from the teacher was necessary before the class was likely to understand the themes and viewpoints contained in this film. Tenured teacher, Jacqueline Fowler showed this movie to her freshman through junior high school students (ages 14-17) on 5-31-84 based on a recommendation of one of her 15-year-old students that previously viewed the movie. Precedent to decide whether the school board in that case acted properly in books... 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