3. Answer the following, based on Standards Board Code of Ethics AND Connick Vs Myers

What ethical principles should have guided Johnnas actions in this situation? Discuss whether she upheld these principals.

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Assistant Superintendent Danni Skyy was not looking forward to giving testimony in the case of former Rivendell Elementary teacher Johnna Long. Two years ago, Rivendell Elementary principal, Bill Sears, had requested an additional special education teacher to accommodate the increased number of IEP students in his school. Johnna Long had applied for the position and seemed to be a perfect fit for Bill and the Rivendell staff. Johnna quickly gained the reputation of being a real advocate of special needs students at Rivendell. Unfortunately, she also chose to voice her complaints about Bill S leadership, the lack of clear objectives on IEPs, safety concerns for IEP students, and the lack of adequate facilities for IEP students to anyone who would listen, including parents.

Bill Sears had worked several years modeling a culture of cooperation and collaborative decision making at Rivendell. Consequently, he listened to Johnnas concerns. He had personally assessed the facility for safety concerns, reviewed the campus safety plan, and assessed the particular safety needs of special needs students. He asked the district special education director to evaluate several IEPs and implemented her suggestions. Bill had dutifully communicated his review and conclusions to the faculty and had written a letter home to parents explaining the reason for the changes he was making. These efforts did not seem to placate Johnna, and during the last week of school she presented Bill Sears with a revised facilities plan complete with room changes to accommodate special needs students at Rivendell, the moving of several teachers room assignments, and a revised lunch schedule. Johnna told Bill that several teachers had been involved in the revision and that she had the support of most of the staff. Bill had no knowledge of these discussions, and he told Johnna that he was not going to make changes this late in the school year.

Bills response did not meet with Johnnas approval. At the end of her first year at Rivendell Elementary, she sent a 10-page letter to Assistant Superintendent Danni Skyy outlining her concerns and criticizing Bill Sears. Johnnas evaluation during her first year was satisfactory and Bill recommended re-hiring her on a second year limited contract. However, during the second year Johnna was at Rivendell, Bill began describing her as a real pain. He also became more critical of her teaching performance. At the end of the second year, Bill Sears and Danni Skyy recommended that Johnnas probationary contract not be renewed for the next school year. Johnna immediately contacted KEA and the KEA attorney and complained that she had been retaliated against by Principal Sears and Assistant Superintendent Skyy for her efforts to protect and advocate for special needs students at Rivendell. The KEA attorney claimed that the Bill and the district had violated Johnnas First Amendment rights and had unlawfully retaliated against her for her protected speech. Danni Skyy wondered how much of this was true.