KS school bans staff from wearing politically charged, potentially ‘disruptive’ safety pins

[rangerrebew]

KS school bans staff from wearing politically charged, potentially ‘disruptive’ safety pins
November 30, 2016
By Victor Skinner


SHAWNEE, Kan. – Officials in the Shawnee Mission School District banned staff from wearing safety pins as a political statement against President-elect Donald Trump, likening the potentially “disruptive” pins to the Confederate flag.

The district issued a joint statement with the National Education Association-Shawnee Mission teachers union on Monday banned safety pins teachers began wearing after the 2016 election after “concerns and complaints regarding political connotations associated with the wearing of safety pins.”safetypins

“Recent events require us to remind our employees of their rights and responsibilities.  As a staff member, you do not give up your first amendment right to free-speech on matters of public concern. However, your communication inside the classroom on school time is considered speech on behalf of the school district and there is a limitation on that speech,” the statement read.

http://eagnews.org/ks-school-bans-staff-from-wearing-politically-charged-potentially-disruptive-safety-pins/

[Sanguine]

Good.  They can wear whatever they want on their own time, but their employer can demand that they not wear provocative political statements while at work.

[rangerrebew]

Good.  They can wear whatever they want on their own time, but their employer can demand that they not wear provocative political statements while at work.

You are correct.  However, not all districts follow that rule.  Case in point, the California schools wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts seems to me to be a clear violation of the principle.  In other words, schools can still use it to stifle one side or the other on an issue simply by declaring one side provocative and the other not.