This document summarizes research on social justice leadership and the speech rights of public school leaders. It finds that social justice leaders feel cautious about speaking out due to fears of retaliation like being fired. As a result, some leaders engage in more covert social justice work or avoid controversial issues. The challenges of advocating for social justice while navigating legal speech restrictions impacts whether some choose to pursue social justice leadership roles at all. Moving forward, preparation programs need to better inform leaders of their rights and how to advocate subtly. Districts should also consider if terminating employees for advocacy speech is just.

1. Presentation
Title Goes Here
Subtitle of
Presentation
Social justice leader speech:
“How do I operate within this
system and do what’s right by
kids?”

2. Social Justice Leadership
• Social justice leaders make issues of race, class, gender, and other
marginalizing conditions central to their work, leadership practice, and
vision for the school and community (Theoharis, 2007)
• Actions
• Maintain high expectations for all students (Gooden, 2005; Kose, 2009; Shields, 2004)
• Base decisions on data and research rather than biases(Blackmore, 2002; Green, 2015)
• Reject deficit thinking and promote inclusion (Berkovich, 2014; Ryan, 2006; Theoharis, 2010)
• Honor students’ cultures and embrace diversity (Khalifa, Gooden, & Davis, 2016; Riehl, 2000)
• Develop parents’ leadership skills (Auerbach, 2009; Ishimaru, 2013)
• Engage in collective leadership with individuals within and outside of the school (Ryan,
2006)
• Speak at rallies and advocate for community causes (Khalifa, 2012)
• Form community coalitions(Berkovich, 2014; Ishimaru, 2014)

3. Social Justice Leadership
• Theoharis (2007a) suggests that “countervailing pressures” create
“rough waters” through which social justice leaders must navigate
(p. 4).
• Barriers include
• Obstructive parent and staff attitudes (DeMatthews, Mahwinney, & Mawhinney, 2014; Garza Jr., 2008;
Theoharis, 2007a)
• Central office or board policies (Ishimaru, 2013; Jean-Marie, 2008; Theoharis, 2010)
• Competing expectations (Carpenter, Bukoski, Berry, & Mitchell, 2017; Ishimaru, 2013; Wasonga, 2009)
• Risks include discipline and removal from job (Ryan, 2016; Theoharis, 2007a)

4. Research Questions
• Importance of “promoting the public’s interest in receiving the well-
informed views of government employees engaging in civic discussion”
(Garcetti v. Ceballos)
• Yet, extensive case law limiting speech rights of public employees
• Research Questions
• To what extent does the work of social justice leaders constitute protected
speech?
• How do leaders perceive their speech rights?
• How do legal limitations, and perceptions of speech rights, impact leaders’
social justice work?

5. Framework:
Public
Employee
Speech
Rights
We hope to, as Berkovich (2014) says, “pay critical
attention to legislation and ethical codes that
regulate and guide educational leaders’ behavior”
(p. 300) to ensure that social justice leaders have
greater ability to engage in justice work without
facing retaliation.

6. Methodology
• Multiple case study (Merriam, 1998)
• Seven semi-structured interviews with social justice school leaders
• Multiple cycles of coding and cross-case analysis in Atlas.TI
• Setting
• Large midwestern public school district, “MPS”
• 500+ district-run schools, 100+ charters, 350,000+ students
• 47% Latinx, 37% Black, 10% White; Highly segregated
• Political
• Mayoral control
• Principals and other school staff have been fired from their jobs for their speech

7. Findings

8. Perceptions of Speech Rights
• Participants were cautious of speech even outside of the school
building.
• “I can't go to a party at someone's house and just let loose. You're
always on.” (Dana)
• “…looking at things like, even going to the women's march for example,
when I was, like, let's wear a hat that's really low, like I don't know
who's watching me and I know somebody is.” (Julie)

9. Perceptions of Speech Rights
• Participants were fearful of negative consequences of social justice work.
• “Well I think within MPS there is an element of being rewarded for being
compliant…It doesn't mean you're quiet, it means you're compliant…And I engage
the channels and give them the opportunity to work for me, because I think that
ultimately that's the way to keep your job and be supported by the system that's in
place. And, you can, there's plenty of opportunity for advocacy and doing work
outside of your school but still, you know, making sure that you turn your
paperwork in on time and you test all your kids.” (Natalie)
• “I think there are people who do speak out and then the, uh, next thing you know
someone's on the news and someone's being walked out…even if you have a
clean [record]…I think the scary part is that they'll find something to blemish your
reputation.” (Betty)

10. Impacts of Speech Rights to Social
Justice Leadership
• Participants engaged in more covert social justice work.
• “So our parents, not necessarily at my urging, but also knowing that I've told
them…your voice is very powerful, and if you don't feel like it's being heard
through me, because I think that's kind of what they're feeling right now, that
I'm following these channels, uh, as an MPS employee, and they haven't felt
like their voice has been heard” (Betty)
• “Our parents, you guys, you know, you can make some more noise around
this, and you can't think that, you know, and it's not even about my, like, job
protection. It's really much more about, like, what's gonna be effective.”
(Patrick)

11. Impacts of Speech Rights to Social
Justice Leadership
• Participants chose to engage in less controversial social justice work
• “And sometimes I ask myself, um, am I too safe at times?…And, if, if I lose my
job, then I'm not even able to operate at all. …So it's this cost-benefit ratio I'm
constantly measuring at all times.” (Dana)
• Participants chose not to engage in social justice leadership
• “That was probably the end of my community activism at that point because it
was, and that was right after [another activist leader] got fired, and it was clear
to me that I was next on the list.” (Mark)

12. Discussion

13. “How do I operate within this system and do
what’s right for kids?”
• Preparation programs—Fully cover leader speech rights and implications
• Especially related to advocacy speech
• Prepare justice-minded leaders to advocate covertly
• Research—Encourage social justice leadership while knowing the inherent
risks?
• Investigate ways leaders can conduct speech without danger
• Other legal protections? Whistleblower protections may not apply to all cases.
• District leadership—is it just to terminate employees for advocacy speech?

14. Thank You
Meagan Richard, mricha44@uic.edu
Jason Salisbury, jsalis2@uic.edu
College of Education | Policy Studies in Urban Education