Jane is a public high school teacher at AB Wright Public High School in Los Angeles, California. Jane teaches various English classes, including AP English, a Shakespeare seminar, and also basic composition courses. Jane is a tenured teacher who has taught at this high school for ten years. Jane was a member of the teacher’s union. During a teacher’s strike, Jane stood in front of the school principal’s office, held a picket sign that called the principal a “management tool,” and blocked the principal, Sally, from entering her office. Jane was arrested for this activity by the school police, she was removed from the school grounds, and she was immediately fired from her job. The firing notice stated only, “You are fired from your teaching job. Please clean out your desk and locker and do not return to campus.” The notice did not state why Jane was fired nor did it tell her what procedures she was entitled to if she wanted to challenge the firing. If given the chance, Jane would have denied blocking the school principal from entering her office. Jane would have claimed that she wanted to have a discussion with the principal.
Weave the facts of this scenario into your answers to these specific questions:
1. Does Jane have due process rights as a public school teacher in this scenario?
2. Have Jane’s due process rights been violated by the school district?
3. What due process procedures is Jane entitled to?
4. Has the school district provided those procedures to Jane?
