Court sides with UH in free speech lawsuit

A federal appeals court has upheld the University of Hawaii’s decision to end a student’s participation in its secondary education teaching program for saying child predation should be legal, that there should be no legal age of consent for sex and that a sexual relationship between a child and teacher is not wrong.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a decision handed down Tuesday that UH’s College of Education did not violate Mark L. Oyama’s constitutional free speech rights when it denied his application to teach as a student apprentice because the denial was based on established professional standards designed to evaluate a candidate’s suitability for teaching.

The court also said UH did not violate Oyama’s constitutional due process rights because the school afforded him adequate procedural protections when it denied the application.

Oyama’s lawyer, Eric Seitz said, “I think it’s a terrible decision,” because it means UH can kick anybody out of school for expressing their views.

Seitz says he will ask for a new hearing in front of all of the judges of the appeals court, not just the three who handed down Tuesday’s decision.

Denying his application for student teaching ended Oyama’s pursuit of becoming a middle or high school teacher because it prevented him from continuing as a graduate student in UH’s secondary education program. UH is the only nationally accredited institution in Hawaii that recommends candidates for certification as secondary school teachers, and student teaching is a prerequisite for recommendation to the state’s teacher certification board.

After obtaining an undergraduate degree in math from California Institute of Technology and master’s degree in physics from UH, Oyama began secondary education course work at UH in 2010. He applied for student teaching in 2011.

Then-College of Education Secondary Program Director Jeffrey Moniz denied Oyama’s application based on the “professional judgment(s)” of “three different faculty members in the College of Education (who) have come forth, separately, to express serious concerns about (Oyama’s) suitability for the teaching profession.”

In a letter to UH’s Academic Grievance Committee, Oyama said he made statements regarding sex with minors in an academic, intellectual setting, in response to a class assignment. He said his statements were intentionally terse to avoid elaborating on the subject, but that his plan backfired.

Oyama said he “has no interest in the subject and will gladly change his views regarding it if necessary.”

The school also cited Oyama’s statement that he sees little benefit to including intellectually disabled students in the classroom, and about arming himself to go to school as further reasons for denying his application.

KOKUA LINE:

Christine Donnelly is on vacation. Kokua Line will return Monday.