Right to Strike (H 5232, S 658)

The ACLU testified against a bill that would authorize the license suspension of teachers who engage in a strike, defined so broadly as to include a teacher’s “abstaining” even in part “from the full performance of his or her duties in his or her normal manner without permission.” Noting that the definition “gives school administrators virtually carte blanche authority to punish selected teachers on a completely arbitrary basis,” the Affiliate further condemned another provision in the bill that put the burden in suspension hearings on the teacher “to demonstrate that he or she did not participate in a strike,” instead of requiring the school district to prove that the teacher did in fact engage in a strike. The bill died in committee.