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Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association

After an election in which the Perry Education Association (PEA) was selected as the bargaining agent for public school teachers in Perry Township, Indiana, the school board denied the rival union and election loser, the Perry Local Educators' Association (PLEA), access to the district's mail system. PLEA argued that this action violated the organization's rights under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the union did not have such a right.

Facts of the Case

In 1977, public school teachers in the Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, Indiana, elected the PEA as their exclusive representative for bargaining with their local school board. Prior to the election, the teachers were represented by PEA or by a rival union, PLEA, and both unions used the school mailboxes and interschool mail system to communicate with their respective members. However, after the election, the PLEA had no official status with the teachers or the school board. Consequently, the 1978 collective bargaining agreement with the board provided that the PEA, but no other union, would have access to the interschool mail system.

After its exclusion from school mail facilities, PLEA and two of its members filed suit in a federal trial court, contending that the PEA's exclusive access violated their constitutional rights, because the mail facilities had been opened to the YMCA, Cub Scouts, other civic organizations, and parochial schools in the past. Therefore, the PLEA argued that because the mail facilities had become a limited public forum for expression, the school board could not arbitrarily exclude it from participation.

The trial court denied the PLEA's claim in granting motions for summary judgment on behalf of the PEA and board. According to the court, the mail system was not a public forum merely because it had accommodated outside groups periodically or because PLEA had equal access prior to PEA's certification as the sole bargaining agent for the teachers. PLEA appealed, and the Seventh Circuit reversed in its favor. The court held that once the board opened its mail system to PEA but denied access to PLEA, it violated both the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The Court's Ruling

On further review, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the school board could deny PLEA access to its mail facilities. In the first place, the Court explained that the board had the authority to decide how its facilities would be used, and by whom, in accomplishing school objectives. The Court was of the opinion that because the mail facilities were not a limited public forum, the board could deny access to any and all outside groups if it chose to do so.

The Court pointed out that because the PLEA was no longer authorized to represent teachers in the district, it had no official relationship with teachers or the board. Therefore, the Court maintained that the PLEA could not claim that access to the mail system was necessary for it to carry out legal and contractual responsibilities to its membership or the school board. Insofar as the exclusive access policy applied only to use of the mail system, the Court reasoned, the PLEA was not prevented from using other school facilities to communicate with teachers. For example, the Court noted that the PLEA could post notices on bulletin boards, conduct meetings on school property after regular school hours, and with approval of the building principals, make announcements on the public address system. Moreover, the Court acknowledged that, of course, the PLEA could always communicate with teachers by telephone, U.S. mail, or word of mouth.

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