Mr. Flaherty is an English teacher at Harding High School, where he's been working since the 1981-1982 school year. He is a firm believer in freedom of expression, but when the Leland Heights school board bans certain books from being read in high school, Mr. Flaherty feels he has no choice but to comply. Jennifer Keaton decides to do her book report on Huckleberry Finn, one of the banned books. Mr. Flaherty tells her that she must pick another book. Most of Mr. Flaherty's students do their report on The Yogi Berra Story, one of the few unbanned books, but Jennifer insists on writing her report on Huckleberry Finn. When Jennifer tries to give her report, Mr. Flaherty has her talk to Dr. Hewitt, who tells her she'll have to take it up with the school board. Later that day, Mr. Flaherty comes to the Keaton family's house to tell them that he'll have to fail Jennifer's report, and that Dr. Hewitt will suspend her if she doesn't back down. Mr. Flaherty, Dr. Hewitt, and Mr. Carter meet up with Jennifer, Steven, and Elyse in Dr. Hewitt's office. Steven says he'll hire a lawyer to fight for Jennifer's First Amendment rights. Mr. Carter says he'll hire a lawyer, too. Jennifer feels betrayed because Mr. Flaherty didn't stand up for her. However, during the school board meeting, Mr. Flaherty is inspired by Jennifer's courage to tell Mr. Carter that he's willing to risk his job to fight for what's right. After the meeting, Mr. Flaherty and some of the other teachers agree to go on strike until Jennifer's suspension is revoked. Mr. Flaherty learns afterwards that the school board has decided there's enough opposition to reconsider banning Huckleberry Finn.