Decision allows district to restrict political displays when employees are on school grounds

A New Jersey appeals court ruled Monday that the Ringwood Board of Education can prohibit teachers from displaying political campaign signs in their vehicles while parked on school property. The court concluded that the district’s policy does not violate the First Amendment.

The Appellate Division reversed a Passaic County judge’s ruling that the policy was overly broad and unlawfully restricted teachers’ political speech.

During the 2022 school board election, several teachers placed campaign lawn signs supporting board candidates inside the windshields of their vehicles while parked at Ryerson Middle School during the school day. After receiving a complaint, the superintendent of schools directed staff members to remove the signs, saying they violated the district’s policy on political activity.

The teachers’ union, Ringwood Education Association, sued, arguing that the policy infringed on teachers’ constitutional right to free speech.

In Monday’s decision, however, the three-judge panel said the district’s policy is narrower than one the Appellate Division struck down in part more than two decades ago.

That earlier case involved teachers wearing “NJEA SETTLE NOW” buttons during contract negotiations. The court ruled in 2000 that a school district’s policy was written too broadly because it could have restricted political speech far beyond the classroom, including discussions among adults. But it also held that schools may limit teachers’ political advocacy in the presence of students.

The judges said Ringwood’s policy was drafted to avoid those problems.

Unlike the earlier policy, the Ringwood rule does not prohibit teachers from discussing politics with other adults or engaging in political activity away from school. Instead, it is limited to political activity on school property where students are likely to see it.

The court said school officials have a legitimate interest in preventing students from routinely encountering partisan political displays when arriving at school.

Judges compared campaign signs displayed in teachers’ vehicles to political lawn signs placed elsewhere on school grounds, saying the district has the authority to prohibit both. They also noted the signs were prominently displayed in vehicle windows rather than serving as ordinary bumper stickers.

The panel also found that the district properly enforced the policy when it ordered teachers to remove the signs. Because the campaign involved candidates for the local school board — the body that negotiates teachers’ salaries, benefits, and working conditions — the judges said the displays were tied not only to political issues but also to teachers’ employment interests.

The court also upheld the dismissal of a separate claim by teacher Christopher Romano, who alleged the district retaliated against him after administrators asked him to move or cover his truck, which displayed decals quoting the Second Amendment. The court did not consider the merits of that claim because it was not included in the original lawsuit.