Horwitz Files US Supreme Court Petition 2007
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| SC Petition (brief) |
| SC Petition (full) |
| Court Terminology |
| Karen Horwitz Story |
| ACLU History |
| Layman's Explanation |
| Contact K. Horwitz |
| Update, 4/20/2007 |
On February 28, 2007, the United States Supreme Court placed Karen Horwitz's Petition for Writ of Certiorari on its docket, which asks the United States Supreme Court to hear her teacher termination case on appeal.
Terminated in April of 1999, this tenured teacher has been trying to have her retaliatory firing heard for over eight years to no avail. Each subsequent Illinois court has refused evidence to show it was a retaliatory termination and the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear her case altogether; the United States Supreme Court is the last chance for unconstitutional treatment of teachers to be heard.
Since Horwitz herself, denied support by the ACLU despite violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, has taken this case up through the courts to expose the lawlessness in our schools in order to carve a path for other teachers with similar cases, what happens with this case will serve as a guiding light for teachers about to file legal complaints, or speak out about administrative misconduct. Teachers need to know if it is safe to report Special Education violations or other harm to children; Horwitz has learned that contrary to what the law says, districts can punish teachers by setting them up to fail for speaking about districts' illegal conduct. We all need to know whether lawlessness in Education will continue to be ignored so that teachers and parents can make intelligent decisions. The need to know includes young people considering teaching as a career as well as those contemplating a career shift later in life, thinking they can make a difference, when in reality they will end up trapped in a pseudo career.
Horwitz's case will officially end Education's ability to "bait and switch" teachers. A teaching career, and all other positions within schools, will finally be accurately described so that dedicated, idealistic people will either be protected as they advocate for children's rights to a proper education or they will know not to enter a career that leads to the destruction of their well being as well as harms the children for which they are responsible. Our schools, as they are today, are devastating for dedicated types, and either our nation must apply the law in Education, or these types must be forewarned to avoid Education.
Therefore, regardless what this Honorable Court does, WE WILL BE HEARD. Its decision will guide us in a direction right for teachers and hence right for children; lawless schools that are bad for children become worse when districts target their teachers, using children as pawns in that process. And with this topic widely known, parents will finally realize that their real problem has been that EducRAT$ run our schools for their own power and perks, not to educate children, because they can. Those teachers who follow their orders, do so out of fear with the exception of those working toward EducRAT positions.
Recognition that Horwitz had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to seek protection for teachers and students because no lower court listened, what this PETITION engenders, gives the public what it needs to make an informed decision about our schools. We do not know whether this Court will hear her case. However, we are people who teach the next generation that being an American is an opportunity for justice, so we maintain faith that this Court will care. And, at the same time, we also know that any person who reads her PETITION will realize what it means if this Court ignores this case. This will give us insight as to why our schools are so dysfunctional. It is undisputed that Horwitz did not have an opportunity to be heard in the context of how she was set up to be terminated, that her district refused to investigate harm to her or her students, and that the conduct of her district and her state has undergone no scrutiny because the courts have decided her district and the Illinois State Board of Education can be protected from accountability in termination proceedings, making termination proceedings powerful weapons for having their way. And all of this means we have the schools we should expect considering the failure to hold school boards responsible for serving the public.
Given that most teachers do not have the opportunity to petition the highest court, this case shows the reader regardless what happens to Horwitz, we have already lost and why. Illinois courts have decided not to publish this and it will remain unpublished unless reviewed, so we can expect teachers to fall into the same traps Horwitz fell into believing teachers have rights because the Constitution says we do, yet the courts won't publish that we don't. If this Court denies this case or affirms the lower courts' ruling that terminating teachers with no protection for teachers or students is proper, at least we will be able to make intelligent decisions about teaching: where to send our children and where to expend our energy in reform. However, if the Court hears this case and mandates that EducRAT$ must follow the law, we can move forward with faith that with people with integrity leading, reform can start. Either way, EndTeacherAbuse.org will detail the Court's response so that those interested in getting our schools back will have a clear picture of what our courts offer us. If it is nothing, we need to know so that the court of public opinion, the strength of our democracy, can operate with wisdom.
The media needs to know this so it can stop putting administrators on a pedestal rather than in dark places with the Enron executives where they truly belong. It has to learn why teachers' are so silent about what is going on and why the media is needed so the truth can surface. Great humanitarians such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey need to know where their money is going when they entrust it with EducRAT$. Presidential candidates need to know that taking money from teacher unions does not support teachers since teacher unions do not support targeted teachers and often help target them.
This PETITION is important because all of the above can be gleaned from it; those who put money into our present lawless schools without first demanding they follow the rule of law, will finally realize that they are supporting a sham on the American public rather than helping reform schools.
This PETITION is important because all of the above can be gleaned from it; those who put money into our present lawless schools without first demanding they follow the rule of law, will finally realize that they are supporting a sham on the American public rather than helping reform schools.
Furthermore, work done to privatize or charter schools without first empowering teachers and others who believe in the laws of this land, by ensuring that laws are followed, simply privatizes corruption. What this PETITION shows is that EducRAT$ operate above the law and thus have done what our forefathers predicted would happen without checks and balances - corrupted our schools. It is time to stop blaming teachers and parents and start blaming school boards, their administrators and the unions for operating above the law. In a country that relies on law to establish order, we cannot expect anything but chaos when we ignore the law.
It is important to note that the US Supreme Court does not hear cases due to mistakes in law even when injustice to a citizen seems compelling. Given its limited time, and the small percentage of cases it can hear, it only reviews cases with widespread impact on the public. Few cases have such widespread significance as Horwitz's case, even if one focuses merely on the "children used as pawns" issue presented, and ignores the teachers as an underclass, the parents being ignored, and the taxpayers' funds being squandered. Given atrocities such as Columbine that evolve from dysfunctional schools where teachers hesitate to speak up about problem students to avoid becoming a center of controversy as did Horwitz for caring about students, ignoring this case is an indication that our courts, like F.E.M.A., which gave us Katrina, and our Pentagon, which has failed to give proper medical care to our soldiers and veterans, are yet another disillusionment. We hope not. We think not. But having had so many American institutions fail us, we cannot be sure. This is an opportunity to test our courts.
It is also important to note that the U.S. Supreme Court does not have the power, or jurisdiction, to make law other than by its decisions, which evolve from questions properly placed before it. Properly means they must have been disposed of by the lower courts according to strict rules, meaning questions may not simply be posed to the court, but must evolve from legal cases that have risen through the courts properly. Thus, although it would appear that the U.S. Supreme Court should have "done something about our dysfunctional schools," creating new law is not jurisdictional, or under its power. It is up to our legislature to create laws. This makes this case even more significant; it offers this Court a rare opportunity to intervene and interpret laws in a way that will protect our children and our society. Given that so few teachers could afford the time and money it takes to bring a case before this Court, it is unlikely to see another of its kind soon.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Supreme Court has the right to fail us. As one of our most revered leaders, Abraham Lincoln stated: "The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." In time we will know whether our court system is as broken as our educational system. And being Americans, we can work together to use public pressure to right these fallen institutions and be effective once we are informed. But first we need to know where our energy is needed.
We can think of nothing that will shed more light on what has been kept so dark for so long. Your children will thank you for taking the time to learn the truth about Education. We hope you will send the following message, along with a link to this page, to any reporter or public official you trust also cares about our children and our country's future. Simply highlight the paragraph below and paste it into an email and send it along with a link to this page to people who have the power to protect our children, our schools, and our future. NAPTA
FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR GREAT COUNTRY'S FUTURE PLEASE READ THIS PETITION TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND BECOME AWARE OF WHY OUR SCHOOLS ARE SO DYSFUNCTIONAL. FOLLOW WHAT THE U.S. SUPREME COURT DOES ABOUT THIS CASE, WHICH THE ILLINOIS COURTS FAILED TO PUBLISH AND WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED UNLESS THE U.S. SUPREME COURT REVIEWS IT. YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS TO UNRAVEL THE TRUTH NEEDED TO BEGIN REFORM IN OUR SCHOOLS. IF TEACHERS DO NOT HAVE PROTECTED RIGHTS, IN ADDITION TO WHAT THIS MEANS TO TEACHERS PERSONALLY, THIS MEANS TEACHING IS NOT A PROFESSION AND IS OFFICIALLY AN UNDERCLASS - A REALITY THAT IMPACTS EVERY CITIZEN IN THIS NATION.
A Very Concerned Citizen
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