The traditional approach of the courts was to accept as "reasonable cause" for teacher dismissal any conduct that set a bad example for students. This chapter examines a cross-section of cases illustrating recent court decisions in this area and attempts to identify any consistent patterns of adjudication and their implications for school operation. Decisions indicate that constitutional privacy protections for homosexual teachers are not supported. Courts have tended to view teacher sexual involvement with students or other minor children in and of itself sufficient evidence for dismissal. In a number of cases involving heterosexual conduct between consenting adults, the courts have not supported dismissal action on grounds of violation of constitutional rights. The other major group of cases concerns illegal conduct, specifically, drug violations, shoplifting, nolo contendere pleas, and other illegal activity. The court decisions indicate that when determining grounds for teacher dismissal, with the exception of misconduct with students or other minor children and of most heinous crimes, immoral and illegal conduct must be shown to adversely affect job performance and dismissal must be for constitutionally permissible reasons. (MLF)