DBS CODE: 4118.21 DBS CODE: 4118.21PERSONNEL:
Academic Freedom:
Recognizing that freedom carries with it responsibility, academic freedom also carries with it academic responsibility which is determined by the framework of our curriculum.
Within the preceding frame of reference and as it pertains to the course to which a teacher is assigned, academic freedom in the Somers Public Schools is defined as:
1. The right to maintain a classroom environment which is conducive to the free exchange and examination of ideas which have economic, psychological, political, scientific or social significance.
2. The right to use materials which are relevant to the levels of ability and maturity of the students and to the purposes of the school system.
3. The right of students to hold divergent ideas as long as the expression of their dissent is done within the guidelines of debate and discussion which are generally accepted by teachers in a normal classroom environment.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 395 U.S. 589, 603 (1967)
Perry v. Sinderman, 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
Sterzing v. Fort Bend Independent School District, 376F. Supp. 657 (S.D. Tex 1972)
Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
Amendment to U.S. Constitution Article I
Connecticut Constitution, Article First, Declaration of rights, Sections 4,5
Academic Freedom Policy (adopted by CT State Board of Education, 9/8/81)
Adopted: May 14, 1979
Reviewed: June 29, 1998
July 9, 2009
June 24, 2024