Noah Feldman, Columnist

Teachers Can’t Wear Their Politics

A New York school district bans employees from displaying thin blue line flags as well as Black Lives Matter apparel.

November 25, 2020 at 2:30 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Leave it at home, teachers.
Photographer: Justin Hamel/AFP/Getty Images

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A school district in Pelham, NY, is in the news for barring staff from wearing masks depicting thin blue line flags, deeming them a political statement. Is this a violation of the First Amendment?

To begin, it’s important to note that a ban on teachers and employees is different from banning students from wearing political symbols. According to Supreme Court precedent going back to 1969, public school students have free speech rights, although that right has been limited to circumstances where their speech doesn’t disrupt school operations. As a result, a school district couldn’t constitutionally ban students from wearing political symbols.