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Academic freedom

Academic freedom

What does Academic freedom mean in American Law?

The definition of Academic freedom in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

A term of uncertain scope, generally describing the right of teachers not to be interfered with in connection with their professional duties. The core meaning most likely refers to the right of a teacher not to be fired or disciplined because what he teaches is politically or ideologically distasteful to his employers. It was, for example, a central complaint about McCarthyism that its insistence that teachers be fired if they were communists (or “reds,” or “pinkos”) was a violation of “academic freedom.” It is not clear, however, that there are, at least as a matter of constitutional law, any special rights that academics have that are not shared by everyone else. It is true, for example, that under the first amendment a teacher cannot be fired by a state university merely because of his expressed political beliefs, but that is true of any government clerk too. Moreover, both can be fired for certain kinds of talk, a teacher for teaching that the earth is flat in geography class, and a clerk for verbally abusing his superior. Of course, teachers, like all other workers, can secure more rights than they have under the Constitution by contracting for them, and many teachers, particularly in universities, have done just that. In addition, teachers’ professional organizations and accrediting organizations will bring sanctions against any

educational institution which expresses or implements too narrow an idea of what academic freedom includes.

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Legal English Vocabulary: Academic Freedom in Spanish

Online translation of the English legal term academic freedom into Spanish: libertad de enseñanza (English to Spanish translation) . More about legal dictionary from english to spanish online.

Related to the Legal Thesaurus

Meaning of Academic Freedom

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See Also

  • Colleges
  • Universities
  • Resources

    See Also

    • Civil Liberty
    • Civil Right
    • Legal Right
    • Citizen Freedom
    • Political Liberty
    • Constitutional Right
    • Political Right
    • Freedom of Speech

    Hierarchical Display of Academic freedom

    Law > Rights and freedoms > Social rights
    Education And Communications > Teaching > Teaching > Private education
    Education And Communications > Teaching > Teaching > Public education

    Meaning of Academic freedom

    Overview and more information about Academic freedom

    For a more comprehensive understanding of Academic freedom, see in the general part of the online platform.[rtbs name=”xxx-xxx”]

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    Translation of Academic freedom

    Thesaurus of Academic freedom

    Law > Rights and freedoms > Social rights > Academic freedom
    Education And Communications > Teaching > Teaching > Private education > Academic freedom
    Education And Communications > Teaching > Teaching > Public education > Academic freedom

    See also

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