The First Amendment free speech right is one of the most frequently asserted constitutional challenges to dismissal or discipline of a school district employee. In any employee's claim of violation of free speech right by a public employer, a threefold process of review should be made: (1) Was the conduct in question constitutionally protected in that it affected matters of legitimate public concern? (2) If so, was the school district's action in response to the conduct justified in light of the district's interest in the efficiency, integrity, and discipline of its operation? (3) Was the school district's action motivated by the employee's protected conduct or were there other, constitutionally neutral factors that would have caused the action in the absence of the protected conduct? The recent Supreme Court decision in "Connick vs. Myers," by establishing that First Amendment protection extends only to matters of public concern, provides the basis for summary dismissal of attempts by employees to constitutionalize private disputes. (TE)