This article relies too much on references to primary sources . (July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Argued October 13, 1982 Decided February 23, 1983 | |
Full case name | Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association |
Citations | 460 U.S. 37 ( more ) 103 S. Ct. 948; 74 L. Ed. 2d 794 |
Case history | |
Prior | Perry Local Educators' Ass'n v. Hohlt, 652 F.2d 1286 (7th Cir. 1981) |
Subsequent | On remand, Perry Local Educators' Ass'n v. Hohlt, 705 F.2d 462 (7th Cir. 1983) |
Holding | |
The First Amendment is not violated by the preferential access to the interschool mail system granted to a teacher's union but not other employee organizations. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinions | |
Majority | White, joined by Burger, Blackmun, Rehnquist, and O'Connor |
Dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall, Powell, Stevens |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. Amend. I |
Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association, 460 U.S. 37 (1983), was a United States Supreme Court decision concerning free speech rights on government-owned property. The Court ruled that teacher mailboxes and the use of a school mail delivery system are a nonpublic forum, and upheld a policy that allowed the union representing the teachers, but not other employee organizations, to use the district's mail system. [1]
Perry Education Association is commonly cited for its explanation of the rules distinguishing the public forum, the designated public forum, and the nonpublic forum.
Two rival unions were in competition to represent the teachers of Perry Township Schools in Indiana: the Perry Education Association (PEA) and the Perry Local Educators' Association (PLEA). In 1977, PEA won an election and was certified as the exclusive bargaining representative for the district's teachers.
Following the election, PEA negotiated a labor contract with the district. Among other things, this contract gave PEA the right to place material in teachers' mailboxes and to use the interschool mail delivery system. Mail access rights were given exclusively to PEA, and could not be used by any other "school employee organization."
PLEA, the rival organization, could not use teacher mailboxes or the school mail system. However, PLEA was not prevented from posting notices on bulletin boards, holding meetings on school property, or making announcements on the public address system. In addition, under Indiana law, PLEA was assured of equal access to all modes of communication during election periods.
PLEA filed a civil suit against PEA under §1983, claiming that the mail access policy violated PLEA's First Amendment rights. The Seventh Circuit sided with PLEA, ruling that there was no basis for denying PLEA mail access. [2]
In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the Seventh Circuit and upheld the mail access policy.
Writing for the majority, Justice Byron White analyzed the three types of forums that arise when speakers use government-owned property to convey a message:
The Court concluded that the school mail system was a nonpublic forum. Although other organizations such as the Cub Scouts and the YMCA were at times permitted to use the mail facilities, this was done with the permission of the building principal. Such "selective access does not transform government property into a public forum." [7]
Next, the Court ruled that PEA's preferential access was a reasonable distinction based on status, not viewpoint. Distinctions based on "subject matter and speaker identity" are "inescapable in the process of limiting a nonpublic forum to activities compatible with the intended purpose of the property." [8] There was no evidence that PEA's favorable treatment was a consequence of different viewpoints on labor or any other issue. Rather, the unequal treatment simply reflected PEA's "special responsibilities" as the exclusive bargaining agent for teachers. [9]
The majority also found that the restriction was reasonable because "substantial alternative channels ... remain[ed] open" for PLEA to communicate with teachers. [10] These channels included bulletin boards, the United States mail, and the use of school mail facilities during election periods.
Justice William Brennan dissented, arguing that the mail policy was a form of viewpoint discrimination. Viewpoint discrimination is impermissible even in a nonpublic forum.
Boy Scouts of America et al. v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court, decided on June 28, 2000, that held that the constitutional right to freedom of association allowed the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to exclude a homosexual person from membership in spite of a state law requiring equal treatment of homosexuals in public accommodations. More generally, the court ruled that a private organization such as the BSA may exclude a person from membership when "the presence of that person affects in a significant way the group's ability to advocate public or private viewpoints". In a five to four decision, the Supreme Court ruled that opposition to homosexuality is part of BSA's "expressive message" and that allowing homosexuals as adult leaders would interfere with that message.
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed "equal protection" under the law to all people. Under the doctrine, as long as the facilities provided to each race were equal, state and local governments could require that services, facilities, public accommodations, housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation be segregated by "race", which was already the case throughout the states of the former Confederacy. The phrase was derived from a Louisiana law of 1890, although the law actually used the phrase "equal but separate".
Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membership based on certain criteria. Freedom of Association, The Essentials of Human Rights describes the right as coming together with other individuals to collectively express, promote, pursue and/or defend common interests. Freedom of Association is both an individual right and a collective right, guaranteed by all modern and democratic legal systems, including the United States Bill of Rights, article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and international law, including articles 20 and 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 22 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work by the International Labour Organization also ensures these rights.
Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. Many educational alternatives emphasize small class sizes, close relationships between students and teachers and a sense of community.
Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable TV specialty channels. Public-access television was created in the United States between 1969 and 1971 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under Chairman Dean Burch, based on pioneering work and advocacy of George Stoney, Red Burns, and Sidney Dean.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that defined First Amendment rights of students in U.S. public schools. The Tinker test, also known as the "substantial disruption" test, is still used by courts today to determine whether a school's interest to prevent disruption infringes upon students' First Amendment rights.
In the United States, freedom of speech and expression is strongly protected from government restrictions by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, many state constitutions, and state and federal laws. Freedom of speech, also called free speech, means the free and public expression of opinions without censorship, interference and restraint by the government. The term "freedom of speech" embedded in the First Amendment encompasses the decision what to say as well as what not to say. The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized several categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment and has recognized that governments may enact reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on speech. The First Amendment's constitutional right of free speech, which is applicable to state and local governments under the incorporation doctrine, only prevents government restrictions on speech, not restrictions imposed by private individuals or businesses unless they are acting on behalf of the government. However, laws may restrict the ability of private businesses and individuals from restricting the speech of others, such as employment laws that restrict employers' ability to prevent employees from disclosing their salary with coworkers or attempting to organize a labor union.
The Support Our Scouts Act of 2005 was passed as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006 to prevent Local, State and Federal agencies from reducing their support for the Boy Scouts of America. The bill was passed in the wake of a number of controversies involving the Boy Scouts of America, such as their exclusion of gays and atheists, and subsequent attempts to limit government support of the organization.
In United States constitutional law, a forum is a property that is open to public expression and assembly.
Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819 (1995), was an opinion by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding whether a state university might, consistent with the First Amendment, withhold from student religious publications funding provided to similar secular student publications. The University of Virginia provided funding to every student organization that met funding-eligibility criteria, which Wide Awake, the student religious publication, fulfilled. The university's defense claimed that denying student activity funding of the religious magazine was necessary to avoid the University's violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 533 U.S. 98 (2001), held that when a government operates a "limited public forum," it may not discriminate against speech that takes place within that forum on the basis of the viewpoint it expresses—in this case, against religious speech engaged in by an evangelical Christian club for children.
The movement for compulsory public education in the United States began in the early 1920s. It started with the Smith-Towner bill, a bill that would eventually establish the National Education Association and provide federal funds to public schools. Eventually, it became the movement to mandate public schooling and dissolve parochial and other private schools. The movement focused on the public's fear of immigrants and the need to Americanize; it had anti-Catholic overtones and found support from groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, 529 U.S. 217 (2000), is a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that public universities may subsidize campus groups by means of a mandatory student activity fee without violating the students' First Amendment rights.
United States v. American Library Association, 539 U.S. 194 (2003), was a decision in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that the United States Congress has the authority to require public schools and libraries receiving E-Rate discounts to install web filtering software as a condition of receiving federal funding. In a plurality opinion, the Supreme Court ruled that: 1.) public libraries' use of Internet filtering software does not violate their patrons' First Amendment free speech rights; 2.) The Children's Internet Protection Act is not unconstitutional.
Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, 561 U.S. 661 (2010), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld, against a First Amendment challenge, the policy of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, governing official recognition of student groups, which required the groups to accept all students regardless of their status or beliefs in order to obtain recognition.
Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette, 515 U.S. 753 (1995), is a United States Supreme Court case that focused on First Amendment rights and the Establishment Clause. Vincent Pinette, an active member of the Ku Klux Klan in Columbus, Ohio, wanted to place an unattended cross on the lawn of the Capitol Square during the 1993 Christmas season. Pinette and his fellow members of the KKK submitted their request. The advisory board originally denied this request. However, Pinette and the other members of the Ohio Chapter of the Klan fought this decision in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The court found in favor of the Klan and the Advisory Board issued the permit. The Board appealed to the United States Court of Appeals, which affirmed the decision of the district court. The board made one last petition to the Supreme Court where the decision was made, by a vote of seven to two, that the Klan was permitted to display the cross at the public forum.
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations is the largest and most traditional professional organization and teachers' union in South Korea, with more than 170,000 members. It means 40% of the Korean educators are KFTA's members. The KFTA member is composed of school teachers, college professors, and perspective teachers.
The organization was first launched in 1947 as the Chosun Education Association one year before the establishment of the Korean government. Ever since then, the organization's main objectives are to accomplish quality public education and teacher's professionalism.
Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established as forums for student expression.
Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S. ___ (2017), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court affirmed unanimously the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the provisions of the Lanham Act prohibiting registration of trademarks that may "disparage" persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols with the United States Patent and Trademark Office violated the First Amendment.
Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263 (1981), held that when the U.S. government provides an "open forum," it may not discriminate against speech that takes place within that forum on the basis of the viewpoint it expresses—in this case, against religious speech engaged in by an evangelical Christian organization.