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Appeals Court Shuts Classroom Door on Teacher Who Posted Derogatory Facebook Comments About Her First Grade Students

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    In an unpublished decision issued on January 11, 2013, a NJ appeals court upheld the firing of a first-grade teacher in the Paterson school district who called her students "future criminals" in a Facebook post.   In the Matter of the Tenure Hearing of Jennifer O'Brien , Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Docket No. A-2452-11T4 .  This case represents another example of the consequences of misusing popular social media sites.      In this case a two-judge appeals panel ruled that the teacher's derogatory Facebook posting was not protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and that her "right to express those comments was outweighed by the district's interest in the efficient operation of its schools."  The teacher, Jennifer O'Brien, employed as a Paterson teacher since 1998, was assigned to teach a first grade class of 23 students.  Almost all of her first graders were 6 years old ,