Washington county judge rolls back restrictions on teacher political speech

By The Associated Press

05.25.02

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Editor's note: Christine Yorozu, chairwoman of the Public Disclosure Commission, said May 29 that the commission would ask the Washington Supreme Court to overturn King County Superior Court Judge Richard McDermott's ruling. The PDC was sufficiently concerned about the ruling that it chose to appeal to the Supreme Court instead of the Court of Appeals in hopes of resolving the issue more quickly, Yorozu said.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — State rules restricting teachers' political free speech on campus have been eased by a King County judge.

Superior Court Judge Richard McDermott, in an oral ruling from the bench May 23, said teachers and union representatives are free to discuss political issues and to receive campaign materials on school property on their own time. They still cannot campaign in the classroom or public portions of the schoolhouse.

The ruling also said the Washington Education Association and other union representatives can use the school's internal mail and e-mail systems to send campaign-related information, including endorsements, to school employees.

The judge threw out some of the restrictions handed down by the Public Disclosure Commission last fall. Those rules said employees and union representatives could hand out campaign materials only in lunchrooms or staff rooms and that the unions couldn't use the school's internal mail or e-mail for campaign purposes.

The WEA hailed the decision, but the watchdog commission said it may appeal.

"The PDC cannot ban teachers from talking about politics on their own time," said Dave Scott, WEA vice president. "We don't surrender our First Amendment rights when we walk through the school door."

WEA spokesman Rich Wood said the judge gave examples of teachers having campaign discussions in the halls, staff restrooms, parking lot, bus barn or cafeteria kitchens.

"Teachers should be able to talk with other teachers out in the hallway after work hours about the presidential election or a school levy," he said.

"We made it abundantly clear that we had no interest in doing anything (political) in the classroom," said attorney Michael Gawley of Seattle.

"This is a welcome decision and important to free speech," he said in an interview.

But PDC Director Vickie Rippie said the anti-electioneering guidelines help prevent illegal use of public resources to influence elections.

"For almost 30 years, it's been illegal to distribute campaign literature in schools, in the hallways, in the garages, in any public area of the schools, including use of the e-mail system," she said in an interview. "This decision is a major departure, a major sea change from that position."

The state attorney general will ask McDermott to stay the decision and may appeal, she said.

"It's entirely possible that this decision would have implications for other public facilities, beyond school facilities, as well," she said. Further, it's possible other groups and citizens would assert the same free-speech rights and head to the schools to hand out their campaign literature, too, she said.