Teacher Punished for Telling Students About Constitutional Rights

An Illinois high school teacher was punished by a local school district after he warned students about their Constitutional rights before answering a school-mandated survey about emotional and at-risk behavior.

John Dryden, a social studies teacher at Batavia High School, was issued a formal reprimand and docked a day’s pay. The punishment was doled out during a closed-door school board meeting.

The controversy started when the school district directed students to complete a survey about at-risk behavior – including past drug, tobacco and alcohol usage.

“I advised my students that they had a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves,” Dryden told alocal newspaper. “It was not my intention for them not to take the survey.”