Judge Says No to NYC Teachers' Campaign Buttons

This from the School Law Blog:

A federal district judge has ruled that a New York City school system rule barring teachers from wearing campaign buttons in school is likely constitutional.

In an Oct. 17 opinion, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of U.S. District Court in Manhattan rejected a request by the United Federation of Teachers for a preliminary injunction that would bar enforcement of the "chancellor's regulation" against wearing political
buttons.

"While a majority of students, particularly older students, presumably would understand that the views expressed by their teachers’ campaign buttons are personal rather than institutional," Judge Kaplan said, "there is a clear relationship between the regulation and defendants’ legitimate interests in ... avoiding the entanglement of their public educational mission with partisan politics." ...

...Education Week reported on the issue here...

...UFT President Randi Weingarten says in this statement that the union will decide after Election Day whether to pursue the case further.