America\u27s Classrooms: Frontlines of the First Amendment (Panel 1)

This symposium will explore current First Amendment issues in lower and higher education. Following a series of state-law mandates and Circuit Court and Supreme Court decisions affecting teachers and our American education system, this constitutional conversation is ripe for debate and analysis. Symposium presenters will discuss academic freedom protections for university and lower education teachers, gender identification of students, off-campus speech, K-12 curriculum development, critical race theory, and other related topics. 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introduction 10:00 a.m. - noon Panel 1: K-12 First Amendment Considerations ● Richard Duncan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law, First Amendment religious rights influencing school choice and curriculum ● Erika Wilson, UNC School of Law: Critical Race Theory and Localism ● Emily Spivack, senior associate Squire, Patton, Boggs: variety of K-12 issues in practice ● Will Creeley, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE): Social Media in Schools, focusing on Mahanoy v. B.L. ● Shannon Minter. Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR): TBD This panel will focus on the current First Amendment issues in K-12 education and the effects on teachers, students, and parents