Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/16-1466_2b3j.pdf
Page Number: 35.0

30  JANUS v. STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES 

Opinion of the Court 

education  is  typically  the  largest  component  of  state  and
local government expenditures.15 

Speech  in  this  area  also  touches  on  fundamental  ques­
tions of education policy.  Should teacher pay be based on
seniority,  the  better  to  retain  experienced  teachers?    Or 
should  schools  adopt  merit-pay  systems  to  encourage
teachers  to  get  the  best  results  out  of  their  students?16 
Should districts transfer more experienced teachers to the 
lower performing schools that may have the greatest need 
for their skills, or should those teachers be allowed to stay
where  they  have  put  down  roots?17   Should  teachers  be 
given tenure protection and, if so, under what conditions?
On what grounds and pursuant to what procedures should 
teachers be subject to discipline or dismissal?  How should 
teacher performance and student progress be measured—
by standardized tests or other means? 

Unions  can  also  speak  out  in  collective  bargaining  on 

controversial  subjects  such  as  climate  change,18  the  Con­
federacy,19 sexual orientation and gender identity,20 evolu­
tion,21 and minority religions.22  These are sensitive politi­

—————— 

15 See  National  Association  of  State  Budget  Officers,  Summary: 
Spring  2018  Fiscal  Survey  of  States  2 
(June  14,  2018), 
http://www.nasbo.org;  ProQuest  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United 
States: 2018, pp. 306, Table 476, 321, Table 489.

16 See Rogers, School Districts ‘Race to the Top’ Despite Teacher Dis­

pute, Marin Independent J., June 19, 2010. 

17 See  Sawchuk,  Transferring  Top  Teachers  Has  Benefits:  Study 
Probes  Moving  Talent  to  Low-Performing  Schools,  Education  Week,
Nov. 13, 2013, pp. 1, 13. 

18 See  Tucker,  Textbooks  Equivocate  on  Global  Warming:  Stanford
Study  Finds  Portrayal  ‘Dishonest,’  San  Francisco  Chronicle,  Nov.  24,
2015, p. C1. 

19 See  Reagan,  Anti-Confederacy  Movement  Rekindles  Texas  Text­

book Controversy, San Antonio Current, Aug. 4, 2015. 

20 See Watanabe, How To Teach Gay Issues in 1st Grade? A New Law 
Requiring California Schools To Have Lessons About LGBT Americans 
Raises Tough Questions, L. A. Times, Oct. 16, 2011, p. A1. 

21 See Goodstein, A Web of Faith, Law and Science in Evolution Suit,