NY teachers union sues over ban on political pins

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With just 25 days to the U.S. presidential election on November 4, a union of New York City teachers filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to overturn a rule that forbids teachers from wearing campaign buttons in school.

The rule violates educators' right to free speech, said the lawsuit filed by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in Manhattan federal court against the city's Department of Education and Chancellor Joel Klein.

The suit seeks a temporary restraining order on the ban, which the union said it was not aware of until recently.

In an e-mail message sent on October 1, the chancellor reminded administrators to enforce the rule, which requires them to "maintain a posture of complete neutrality with respect to all candidates" while on duty, the union said.

The rule sends "the wrong message to our students," UFT president Randi Weingarten said in a statement.

"We are just weeks away from a landmark presidential election that is being discussed in classrooms and at dinner tables across the nation," she said.

"Students can only benefit from being exposed to and engaged in a dialogue about current events, civic responsibilities and the political process."

Paul Marks, a lawyer for the city, said he was confident the court would uphold the ban on campaign buttons.

"We're still in the process of evaluating the legal papers; however, we're confident that when the Court has had the opportunity to fully consider this matter, the City's position will be upheld," Marks said in a statement.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)