1 v. Hortonville Education Association, 426 U.S. 482 (1976), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that a public school board did not violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution when it fired teachers who went on strike after contract negotiations with the board broke down.
[4] One week later, the Board conducted disciplinary proceedings and voted to terminate the employment of the striking teachers.
"[7] The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari to determine whether the Board's actions violate the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
[8] Writing for a majority of the Court, Chief Justice Warren Burger held that "the Board's prior role as negotiator does not disqualify it to decide that the public interest in maintaining uninterrupted classroom work required that teachers striking in violation of state law be discharged.
"[11] Citing Withrow v. Larkin, Justice Stewart argued that "[i]t is now well established that a biased decisionmaker [is] constitutionally unacceptable [and] our system of law has always endeavored to prevent even the probability of unfairness.