Public Concern Speech

To be protected by the First Amendment, the speech of a government employee must be speech on a matter of public concern, rather than relating solely to a private grievance the employee has with her employer. In evaluating whether speech involves a matter of public concern, courts look at the content, form, and context of the speech. If the speech only relates to matters of private concern, the public school is free to take action against the teacher (or other school employee) without concern about the First Amendment. The public concern analysis is based on Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983).

In distinguishing between public concern and private concern speech, the most difficult cases occur when the subject of the speech is relevant to the teacher's personal interests, but also may be of public concern because it reflects some more general issue about the operation of the public schools. If the issue raised by the teacher is also of more general concern, such as the spending priorities of the school, the curriculum choices made by the school, or the treatment of students and/or teachers, the speech can be considered public concern speech even though it also affects the teacher's working conditions. In reaching a conclusion about how to classify the speech, courts will look at the content, form, and context of the speech.