[March 11, 2026]: Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) joined Manhattan Institute and Defense of Freedom Institute in filing a Supreme Court amicus brief supporting a high school teacher who was fired from her job simply for expressing a viewpoint on Facebook. Following the death of George Floyd, she posted a few comments that were met with such vitriol in her community that she was fired from her high school teaching job. This was all simply because her employer didn’t like what she had to say.

But as SLF and amici explain in their brief, just because someone works for the government does not mean they give up their free speech rights at the schoolhouse steps. Public employees have the right to speak as citizens on matters of public concern, even—or especially—”in a divisive political climate[.]”

The high school engaged in clear viewpoint discrimination when it fired the teacher over her Facebook posts. It should be an easy First Amendment case, but the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that viewpoint discrimination is OK when preventing “disruption” in the workplace.

SLF and amici explain that this decision stretches Supreme Court precedent beyond its limits and gives public employers a roadmap for cancel culture. One need only “identify a public employee with controversial opinions, perhaps on divisive issues like race or gender-transitioning,” “create a coordinated media/backlash campaign” to fabricate a controversy, and send the emails to administrators. Under the Seventh Circuit’s holding, these emails would be evidence of disruption and could lead to the teacher’s firing.

SLF and amici are urging the Supreme Court to take up the teacher’s appeal to rein in public employers who are abusing their power.