Product Description

Campuses in the United States, both public and private K-12 schools and colleges , are roiled with free speech controversies arising from our polarized political climate. As students, faculty, and employees seek to speak out on war in the Middle East, and immigration and other fraught policy issues at home, employers and employees must determine the lines between permissible free speech and social expression at schools on the one hand, and improper behavior on the other. Learn the employee, student, and management points of view on what political and social self-expression is protected, and where the boundaries lie, on campuses and in the schools.

Agenda & Materials

• 9:00 - 9:15 am

  Overview of Critical Free Speech Cases, both Past and Present; Challenges Facing Administrators and Staff in K-12 Education; Recommendations for Addressing Free Speech Issues in K-12 Classrooms

  Elizabeth Cabral-Townson, Esq., Lyons Law Group LLC , Rockland
  
• 9:15 - 9:30 am

  Free Speech Issues When K-12 Educators Engage in Social Media; The Interplay of Free Speech Rights and Labor Law Protections in a Unionized K-12 Workforce

  Laurie R. Houle, Esq., Massachusetts Teachers Association, Division of Legal Services , Quincy
  
• 9:30 - 9:45 am

  Student Rights to Free Speech in K-12 Education; Parent’s Role in Free Speech Issues/Process

  Timothy A. Sindelar, Esq., The EdLaw Project, Youth Advocacy Foundation , Roxbury
  
• 9:45 - 10:05 am

  Hypotheticals Impacting K-12 Schools

  Elizabeth Cabral-Townson, Esq., Lyons Law Group LLC , Rockland
  Laurie R. Houle, Esq., Massachusetts Teachers Association, Division of Legal Services , Quincy
  Timothy A. Sindelar, Esq., The EdLaw Project, Youth Advocacy Foundation , Roxbury
  
• 10:05 - 10:20 am

  Faculty and College Staff Rights to Free Speech on Campus; How to Advise Professors and College Employees; The Current Assault on Faculty Rights and Vehicles for Opposing It

  Ellen J. Messing, Esq., Messing, Rudavsky & Weliky, PC , Newton
  
• 10:20 - 10:35 am

  Academic Freedom and AAUP; Freedom of Expression in Collective Bargaining Agreements; Limits of Free Speech in Higher Education; Tips for Managing Free Speech in a Remote Classroom

  Joseph P. McConnell, Esq., Morgan, Brown & Joy LLP , Boston
  
• 10:35 - 10:55 am

  Hypotheticals Impacting Colleges and Universities

  Ellen J. Messing, Esq., Messing, Rudavsky & Weliky, PC , Newton
  Joseph P. McConnell, Esq., Morgan, Brown & Joy LLP , Boston
  
• 10:55 - 11:00 am

  "Ask the Experts" Q&A Session and Key Takeaways

  Panel
  

Please Note

MCLE webcasts are delivered completely online, underscoring their convenience and appeal. There are no published print materials. All written materials are available electronically only. They are posted 24 hours prior to the program and can be accessed, downloaded, or printed from your computer.

Cochairs

Faculty