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Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Math professor who criticized college's 'lowered' standards lands win in free speech case
A math professor who alleges he faced "retaliation" for criticizing academic standards changes at his Reno, Nevada college has received a victory in a federal appeals court. Lars Jensen, a tenured math professor at Truckee Meadows Community College ("TMCC"), filed a lawsuit against administrators in January 2022, claiming they reprimanded him and put him through a termination hearing after he criticized a policy change at the college that resulted in the "lowering" of academic standards in the math department. While Jensen's case was dismissed by a district court in 2023, he received a win from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ("FIRE") announced that the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's decision and sent the case back to the lower court for review. "We conclude that the district court erroneously dismissed Jensen's First Amendment retaliation claims," an opinion written by Circuit Judge Berzon stated. "We further conclude that Jensen did not adequately plead due process and equal protection claims, but the district court abused its discretion in denying Jensen leave to amend. Accordingly, we reverse and remand." Us 'Report Card' Shows Students Have Fallen Behind In Reading, Barely Budged In Math: 'The News Is Not Good' In his legal complaint, Jensen claims that he was punished by the college after he spoke out against a curriculum policy change, adopted by the Nevada System of Higher Education, that prompted the TMCC math department to lower its academic standards for certain courses. Read On The Fox News App During a "Math Summit" in January 2020, Jensen claims he attempted to comment on the policy during a question and answer session. However, Dr. Julie Ellsworth, Dean of Sciences at TMCC, allegedly denied Jensen's request to speak and directed him to a whiteboard that was provided for participants to post comments. The complaint says that Jensen went to his office and proceeded to type out his concerns on a handout, in which he argued the policy would "lower" the academic level of a Math 120 course in order to let students complete the course at current rates. He argued that lowering standards would adversely affect both graduates' abilities and local businesses in the community, who expect to hire qualified graduates from the college. Jensen says he distributed his written comments to participants during the break, but Ellsworth collected his handouts and told Jensen he couldn't distribute them. The lawsuit states Jensen told her he was not being disruptive and left the room to distribute the handouts in another room before returning to the conference room to keep distributing the handouts. At this point, Ellsworth confronted Jensen and accused him of being a "bully" and "disobeying her" before telling him he had "made an error by defying her," the complaint alleges. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture One week after this incident, Ellsworth issued a letter of reprimand to Jensen. Jensen then emailed the entire TMCC faculty, reiterating his concerns about the academic standards changes. An official letter of reprimand was put in his personnel file on March 30, 2020, according to his complaint. Jensen claims he faced pressure from Ellsworth to resign as chair and member of another professor's tenure committee. Ellsworth also began to raise concerns about Jensen's "punitive" syllabus policies, which had been in place for years and followed by other professors in the department, whom Ellsworth did not reprimand, the complaint alleges. Following this, Jensen received two consecutive "unsatisfactory" performance reviews, the lowest possible rating, despite recommendations from the department chair that he be given an "excellent" rating. In the first performance evaluation, Ellsworth listed Jensen's "insubordination" at the math conference and his syllabus policies as her reasoning for the low score. Under the Nevada System of Higher Education guidelines, these performance reviews triggered a disciplinary hearing to determine if Jensen should be fired. College Students Are Struggling With Basic Math, Many Stuck At 9Th Grade Level; Professors Blame The Pandemic FIRE wrote a letter warning the college they were violating Jensen's First Amendment rights, and TMCC later decided not to fire Jensen. Jensen sued TMCC administrators in 2022, arguing the college's punitive actions had violated his First Amendment, due process and equal protection rights, but a district court dismissed the case in 2023, FIRE said. The Ninth Circuit ruling Monday held that the district court was wrong to dismiss Jensen's First Amendment claim, saying that his speech about lowering academic standards in the college curriculum was a matter of public concern and thus would be protected by the First Amendment. The court also argued that the college's "interest in punishing a disobedient employee for speaking in violation of their supervisor's orders cannot automatically trump the employee's interest in speaking." FIRE and Jensen hailed the recent ruling in a press release. "This decision is a major victory for the free speech rights of academics," FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner, who argued the case before the Ninth Circuit panel in November 2024, said. "This decision will protect professors from investigation or threats of termination for their speech, and promote accountability for administrators who violate the First Amendment." "The college's actions tarnished my reputation and chilled my speech," Jensen also said. "The Ninth Circuit's decision vindicates my First Amendment rights and allows me to have my day in court." Jensen's lawsuit names several Truckee Meadows Community College administrators and the former Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education as defendants. A Truckee Meadows Community College spokesperson said that they cannot comment on pending litigation or personnel matters. The Nevada System of Higher Education did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: Math professor who criticized college's 'lowered' standards lands win in free speech case
Fox News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Math professor who criticized college's 'lowered' standards lands win in free speech case
A math professor who alleges he faced "retaliation" for criticizing academic standards changes at his Reno, Nevada college has received a victory in a federal appeals court. Lars Jensen, a tenured math professor at Truckee Meadows Community College ("TMCC"), filed a lawsuit against administrators in January 2022, claiming they reprimanded him and put him through a termination hearing after he criticized a policy change at the college that resulted in the "lowering" of academic standards in the math department. While Jensen's case was dismissed by a district court in 2023, he received a win from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ("FIRE") announced that the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's decision and sent the case back to the lower court for review. "We conclude that the district court erroneously dismissed Jensen's First Amendment retaliation claims," an opinion written by Circuit Judge Berzon stated. "We further conclude that Jensen did not adequately plead due process and equal protection claims, but the district court abused its discretion in denying Jensen leave to amend. Accordingly, we reverse and remand." In his legal complaint, Jensen claims that he was punished by the college after he spoke out against a curriculum policy change, adopted by the Nevada System of Higher Education, that prompted the TMCC math department to lower its academic standards for certain courses. During a "Math Summit" in January 2020, Jensen claims he attempted to comment on the policy during a question and answer session. However, Dr. Julie Ellsworth, Dean of Sciences at TMCC, allegedly denied Jensen's request to speak and directed him to a whiteboard that was provided for participants to post comments. The complaint says that Jensen went to his office and proceeded to type out his concerns on a handout, in which he argued the policy would "lower" the academic level of a Math 120 course in order to let students complete the course at current rates. He argued that lowering standards would adversely affect both graduates' abilities and local businesses in the community, who expect to hire qualified graduates from the college. Jensen says he distributed his written comments to participants during the break, but Ellsworth collected his handouts and told Jensen he couldn't distribute them. The lawsuit states Jensen told her he was not being disruptive and left the room to distribute the handouts in another room before returning to the conference room to keep distributing the handouts. At this point, Ellsworth confronted Jensen and accused him of being a "bully" and "disobeying her" before telling him he had "made an error by defying her," the complaint alleges. One week after this incident, Ellsworth issued a letter of reprimand to Jensen. Jensen then emailed the entire TMCC faculty, reiterating his concerns about the academic standards changes. An official letter of reprimand was put in his personnel file on March 30, 2020, according to his complaint. Jensen claims he faced pressure from Ellsworth to resign as chair and member of another professor's tenure committee. Ellsworth also began to raise concerns about Jensen's "punitive" syllabus policies, which had been in place for years and followed by other professors in the department, whom Ellsworth did not reprimand, the complaint alleges. Following this, Jensen received two consecutive "unsatisfactory" performance reviews, the lowest possible rating, despite recommendations from the department chair that he be given an "excellent" rating. In the first performance evaluation, Ellsworth listed Jensen's "insubordination" at the math conference and his syllabus policies as her reasoning for the low score. Under the Nevada System of Higher Education guidelines, these performance reviews triggered a disciplinary hearing to determine if Jensen should be fired. FIRE wrote a letter warning the college they were violating Jensen's First Amendment rights, and TMCC later decided not to fire Jensen. Jensen sued TMCC administrators in 2022, arguing the college's punitive actions had violated his First Amendment, due process and equal protection rights, but a district court dismissed the case in 2023, FIRE said. The Ninth Circuit ruling Monday held that the district court was wrong to dismiss Jensen's First Amendment claim, saying that his speech about lowering academic standards in the college curriculum was a matter of public concern and thus would be protected by the First Amendment. The court also argued that the college's "interest in punishing a disobedient employee for speaking in violation of their supervisor's orders cannot automatically trump the employee's interest in speaking." FIRE and Jensen hailed the recent ruling in a press release. "This decision is a major victory for the free speech rights of academics," FIRE attorney Daniel Ortner, who argued the case before the Ninth Circuit panel in November 2024, said. "This decision will protect professors from investigation or threats of termination for their speech, and promote accountability for administrators who violate the First Amendment." "The college's actions tarnished my reputation and chilled my speech," Jensen also said. "The Ninth Circuit's decision vindicates my First Amendment rights and allows me to have my day in court." Jensen's lawsuit names several Truckee Meadows Community College administrators and the former Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education as defendants. A Truckee Meadows Community College spokesperson said that they cannot comment on pending litigation or personnel matters. The Nevada System of Higher Education did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Nevada Math Professor Who Was Disciplined for Criticizing Curriculum Changes Will Get His Day in Court
In 2019, the Nevada System of Higher Education decided that students who needed remedial math instruction could receive it at the same time they were taking college-level math courses instead of completing it as a prerequisite. In response to that new "co-requisite" policy, the math department at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMMC) decided to make its courses less rigorous. Those changes did not sit well with math professor Lars Jensen, who criticized them in two emails to TMCC faculty members and in a handout he distributed at a January 2020 "Math Summit" where "the community" was invited to discuss the curriculum revision. Because of that criticism, Jensen complained in a federal lawsuit, he received a letter of reprimand and two "unsatisfactory" performance reviews, which triggered a termination hearing. Those disciplinary actions, he argued, violated his First Amendment rights by punishing him for constitutionally protected speech. Although a federal judge dismissed Jensen's lawsuit with prejudice in September 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit revived his claims on Monday, ruling that the alleged conduct of TMMC administrators violated "clearly established" law, meaning they were not shielded by qualified immunity. The 9th Circuit panel's unanimous ruling in Jensen v. Brown "is a major victory for the free speech rights of academics," Daniel Ortner, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) who argued Jensen's case before the appeals court last November, said in a press release. "This decision will protect professors from investigation or threats of termination for their speech, and promote accountability for administrators who violate the First Amendment." In a December 2019 email to other math department faculty members, Jensen expressed concerns about the curriculum changes. The following month, Julie Ellsworth, TMCC's dean of sciences, convened a meeting aimed at discussing the "co-requisite" policy "with the community." But when Jensen tried to lay out his critique during a question-and-answer session, she cut him off. Jensen responded by returning to his office, where he prepared a one-page handout arguing that the decision to "lower the academic level of Math 120 so students will be able to complete the course at current rates" would undermine the value of the college's certificates and degrees. He noted that local businesses, which subsidize the school through their taxes, expect that graduates they hire will be qualified for jobs that require math proficiency. When Jensen returned to the meeting and began handing out his flyer, Ellsworth collected the copies and told him to cut it out. After Jensen "reminded Ellsworth that it was break time and that he was not being disruptive or disturbing anyone," she reiterated her command, which he disregarded. She warned him that he had "made an error by defying her." A week after that encounter, Ellsworth delivered on her threat by notifying Jensen that she planned to write him a letter of reprimand for his "insubordination," which was ultimately placed in his personnel file. Undaunted, Jensen reiterated his criticism of the "co-requisite" policy in an email to the entire TMMC faculty. The repercussions for Jensen's outspokenness continued. During Jensen's May 2020 performance review, the math department's chair recommended a rating of "excellent." Ellsworth instead rated Jensen's performance as "unsatisfactory," again citing his "insubordination." The following year, the department chair still thought Jensen's performance had been "excellent." But Anne Flesher, TMMC's dean of math and physical sciences, deemed it "unsatisfactory." She "identified minor issues with Jensen's performance, based on criteria that Jensen asserts were not equally applied to other faculty." Those two consecutive "unsatisfactory" ratings resulted in a disciplinary investigation by another administrator, Natalie Brown, and a termination hearing, although Jensen ultimately kept his job. Jensen sued Ellsworth, Flesher, and Brown in their personal and official capacities, arguing that they had retaliated against him for speech protected by the First Amendment. Assessing the viability of those claims, the 9th Circuit applied the criteria established by a line of cases beginning with the Supreme Court's 1968 decision in Pickering v. Board of Education, which involved a public school teacher who was fired for publicly criticizing the school board's allocation of funds. The 9th Circuit concluded that Jensen's criticism of dumbed-down math standards addressed "a matter of public concern." And even if he was speaking as a "public employee" rather than a "private citizen," it said, his speech was "related to scholarship or teaching," meaning it was protected under the 9th Circuit's 2014 ruling in Demers v. Austin. The appeals court also thought Jensen had plausibly alleged that his protected speech was a "motivating factor" in the disciplinary actions against him. Those considerations are not necessarily decisive, the 9th Circuit noted, because "a public employee's right to speak is not absolute and may be outweighed by the state's interest 'as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.'" But in this case, the appeals court said, the defendants had failed to demonstrate any such countervailing interest. In particular, they could not point to any significant disruption of the college's operation caused by Jensen's speech. By itself, the appeals court ruled, Ellsworth's complaint about "insubordination" was not enough to override Jensen's First Amendment interests, especially since it hinged on her disapproval of what he was saying. "The state's interest in punishing a disobedient employee for speaking in violation of their supervisor's orders cannot automatically trump the employee's interest in speaking," the 9th Circuit said. "In assessing the state interest, there is good reason for focusing on the disruptive impact of the employee's speech, rather than simply disobedience to an order to stop speaking. If we were instead to allow an employer to prevail solely on the basis that the employee disobeyed the employer's order not to speak, employers would have carte blanche to 'stifl[e] legitimate speech or penalize[e] public employees for expressing unpopular views.'" Contrary to the district court's analysis, the 9th Circuit concluded that the case law on all of these points was clear enough at the time of Jensen's conflict with TMMC administrators that they should have recognized the distinction between legitimate discipline and unconstitutional retaliation. That does not necessarily mean Jensen will win the case, but it does mean he will have a chance to try. "The college's actions tarnished my reputation and chilled my speech," Jensen said in the FIRE press release. "The Ninth Circuit's decision vindicates my First Amendment rights and allows me to have my day in court." The post A Nevada Math Professor Who Was Disciplined for Criticizing Curriculum Changes Will Get His Day in Court appeared first on
