U.S. Judge Rules Schools Can Ban Political Buttons; But Can't Inhibit Union Posts

The Department of Education ban on Teachers wearing campaign buttons to school was upheld in Federal court Oct. 17, a week after the United Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit claiming that the DOE was impinging on Teachers' constitutional rights of free speech and political expression.

RANDI WEINGARTEN: 'Denying freedom of expression.'

But U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan also ruled that the DOE unlawfully used the same regulation to ban politically-tinged communication through UFT bulletin boards and staff mailboxes.

Two Sides Differ on Impact

"I am pleased that the federal court agreed with us that teachers cannot wear political buttons while in our schools," said Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein in a statement. "Keeping politics out of the classroom was our primary concern here, and our position has been fully vindicated."

UFT President Randi Weingarten had a different interpretation, saying in a statement that "the ruling in this case is a victory affirming that teachers in schools do indeed have First Amendment rights ... namely teachers' constitutional right to communicate with peers about important political matters via literature in school mailboxes and campaign posters on UFT bulletin boards in areas off-limits to students."

JOEL I. KLEIN: Fears students would be intimidated.

Ms. Weingarten said that the UFT was willing to negotiate with the DOE on the button issue. "We had already proposed a compromise to the Department of Education in which we would ask our members to not wear them in classrooms. Although the court ruled against us on that issue, it acknowledged that it was a close call," she said. "Given that the overall decision preserves our members' legal rights, we will wait until after Election Day to decide whether to pursue the matter further."

Klein: Display Neutrality

Tensions began after Mr. Klein sent a mass e-mail to the city's Principals and school administrators on Oct. 1 urging them to enforce Chancellor's Regulation D-130, which prohibits Teachers from exhibiting political material at school.

The DOE called the rule "a longstanding Chancellor's regulation that predates the current administration," saying that Teachers "during school hours ... must maintain a posture of neutrality." A UFT statement countered that said policy "has not been followed for decades."

After civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel filed the union suit Oct. 10, Ms. Weingarten told reporters that the DOE was stepping up its efforts to suppress any politically-tinged contact between the union and Teachers by enforcing the D-130 regulation.

Banning 'Out of View' Politicking

"The ban on members wearing lapel pins is bad enough," she said. "Now the Department of Education wants to restrict the communications between the UFT and its members through the regular channels utilized for such communications such as union bulletin boards and employee mailboxes, both of which are out of students' view. The 'what if' scenarios the Chancellor has raised have not happened in two decades. Why would they create shibboleths now simply to deny educators freedom of expression?"

Regulation D-130 prohibits the use of school facilities and supplies, including school mailboxes and UFT bulletin boards, to express support for any political candidate except "as an integral part of regularly published staff newspapers or newsletters."

In a phone interview, Mr. Siegel said that the UFT had "affidavits from three Teachers saying that they were told to take their buttons off and to take a poster off the bulletin board," and that the DOE was actively enforcing all aspects of D-130.

'25 Years With No Complaints'

"The key here is that this has been going on for a quarter of a century, and there's not been a single complaint from a parent, student or a Teacher," said Mr. Siegel, reinforcing Ms. Weingarten's argument that the wearing of political buttons is standard practice in schools.

An affidavit submitted by Mr. Klein in the lawsuit stated that "Regulation D-130 does not impermissibly abridge the first amendment rights of teachers, but instead preserves and protects the rights of students to be free from partisan views of teachers in the classroom." He said that D-130 "does not prevent Teachers from having a personal political view ... it means merely that they may not advocate on behalf of particular candidates when on duty or in contact with students."

Mr. Klein argued that a Teacher wearing a button that does not correspond to a student's point of view, or the point of view that their families might hold, could intimidate or pressure them. "I am mindful of the dangers inherent in allowing Teachers to promote personal political views in the classroom," the declaration reads. "Displays of political partisanship ... are inconsistent with our educational mission."

What's Next?

In the affidavit, Mr. Klein and the DOE also maintained that "opening staff mailboxes to political leafleting could potentially open them to other uses unrelated to education." The same point was emphasized regarding bulletin boards, which are restricted "to ensure that the schools to do not become public fora for political expression."

Ms. Weingarten had addressed the DOE's worries over politicization of schools in her comments while filing the lawsuit.

"It doesn't matter whether you support Democratic Sen. Barack Obama or Republican Sen. John McCain. As voters, we all should have the right to express our views," she said. "By suppressing political expression, the Department of Education is sending the wrong message to our students. We are just weeks away from a landmark presidential election that is being discussed in classrooms and at dinner tables across the nation. Students can only benefit from being exposed to and engaged in a dialogue about current events, civic responsibilities and the political process."