San José/Evergreen Community College District: Professor Fired for Protected Classroom Speech

Professor June Sheldon, an adjunct instructor at San José City College found herself without a job after a discussion on homosexuality in her Human Heredity course resulted in an anonymous complaint. Sheldon, who was accused of teaching "unscientific" points of view, responded to her letter of termination with a twenty page document asserting her innocence and declaring that her due process rights were guaranteed in her union's collective bargaining agreement. FIRE intervened on Sheldon's behalf, citing her academic freedom rights pursuant and demanded her reinstatement, but the SJCC Board of Trustees affirmed her dismissal. Sheldon's lawsuit, which is assisted by the Alliance Defense Fund and Pacific Justice Institute, is pending.