Free speech protection for faculty

Affirmative answers to any of the following questions would suggest that an employee is speaking in the capacity of an employee.

Did the speaker:

• Make attempts to present themselves as a school/district employee or as a professional educator in general?
• Take steps to make it more likely that member of the school community (students, parents, colleagues, administrators) were exposed to the speech?
• Gain (or seek to gain) greater authority/credibility for readers/listeners by virtue of their professional experience or employment?
• Express themselves on a matter that pertained directly to their work or employer?

Did the employee's speech: 

• Breach confidentiality?
• Undermine the superior/subordinate relationship?
• Interfere with the orderly operations of the school?
• Interfere with his/her ability to continue to function effectively on the job?
• Knowingly or recklessly make false statements?
• Provide evidence of a lack of employee's fitness for duty?

Faculty will often encounter free speech and civil discourse issues when interacting with students taking courses taught by faculty members or in research supervision situations. Some common examples of such issues are:

• Classroom discussion issue between faculty and student
• Classroom discussion issue between students
• Clash of perspective issues in assessment of assignments

Students and faculty should consider the policies adopted by CMU as a baseline for navigating such issues. Beyond these, faculty could:

• Provide language in syllabi and orally to students about speech expectations, including limits on disruptive behavior and constraints on speech (Example: one student cannot speak to the exclusion of all others).
• Provide guidance for respectful speech and civil discourse and indicate that these skills will be developed throughout the course.
• Provide guidance about speech that some may find uncomfortable and guidance that students cannot expect statements that they make to pass uncontested by others in the class.
• Provide guidance for formal methods for resolving speech disputes

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Resources regarding civil discourse in the classroom

3 Steps to Civil Discourse (Teacher Version)

Fostering Civil Discourse

The idea of academia freedom provides faculty broad freedom to explore questions and research avenues that interest them. As such, the ability to speak freely on topics that may be contentious is important and should be preserved to the extent that law and policy allows. Conversely faculty should not expect agreement or endorsement from others at the institution with statements that emanate from their research.  Presumably, the institution is not compelled to allocate resources to scholarship on the grounds that not doing so would curtail speech.

Faculty interact in multiple ways with all levels of university administration and staff to facilitate the smooth operation of the institution. Such interaction can include discussion on contentious topics. All parties should bear in mind that the freedom to speak without repercussions should be preserved to the extent permitted by the law and CMU policies.

As citizens, Faculty should be free to speak with the same rights accorded to any citizen. The AAUP Statement on Professional Ethics provides guidelines that affirm the protection of such speech but also include obligations such as avoiding the impression that Faculty speak on behalf of their institution.