What was the dispute?
Student Chad Farnan alleged that comments in Corbett’s Advanced Placement European History class violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The appeal concerned claims against Corbett in his individual capacity.
What did the court decide?
The appellate court concluded that existing precedent did not clearly establish that a teacher’s comments in comparable circumstances violated the Constitution. It therefore affirmed qualified immunity. It declined to decide whether the challenged remarks were constitutional and vacated the district court’s ruling on that question.
The result was specific to this case. It should not be read as a blanket rule that teachers cannot be sued over classroom speech. This is a historical account of the 2011 decision, rather than advice about the law governing a present dispute.