Gus Morales Back in the Classroom

In a victory for activism and members' rights to speak their minds about important education policies, Holyoke Teachers Association President Gus Morales was back at work on Monday, Nov. 24. He was reinstated as a teacher after the HTA and Holyoke Public Schools reached a settlement in a case concerning protected speech. For more on the agreement, go here.

The case stemmed from the district's decision to non-renew Morales at the end of last school year. The HTA filed a charge with the Department of Labor Relations contending that the non-renewal was retaliatory. The DLR issued a complaint noting that Morales received negative evaluations only after he became active in the HTA and began criticizing certain district policies, such as the decision to post student assessment results on publicly available "data walls."
Morales was assisted by members of MTA's legal, affiliate services and communications divisions. To help other members who have questions about their rights, MTA's Legal Division recently issued guidance on when your speech may be protected and when it may not. Although this memorandum specifically addresses speech related to discussing opting out of testing requirements, it offers guidance on the broader issue of protected speech. This guidance is posted here in the members' area of our website. Please note that you will need your user name and password to log in.