No politics allowed?

With a presidential election less than a month away, many Americans naturally are excited about the campaign and some have the desire to express their preferences.

New York City, however, has forbidden teachers in city schools to wear political campaign buttons. Nor are they permitted to distribute political materials in employee mailboxes or place such items on bulletin boards.

New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has urged principals to enforce a policy mandating strict neutrality regarding political candidates, according to the leader of the teachers union for the nation's largest public school system.

"We couldn't believe it," said United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who announced Friday that the teachers have filed a lawsuit against the city with U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The teachers are alleging that their free speech rights are being violated by the policy, and they are right. Teachers have the right to express their political preferences so long as their doing so does not interfere with their job and the education of their students.

A good argument can be made that political buttons and the like can spark classroom discussion about the candidates, politics and government. It can be educational for students to know what the issues are, and to form their own opinions about the election.

Of course, it would not be fair or beneficial for teachers to require students to share their political views, convictions or preferences. Most public school teachers would not do that; they would be more interested in inspiring discussion and debate, and using current events to teach lessons about American government.

Apparently even some colleges have tried to limit political expression. While a publicly funded institution may not endorse a political candidate and a private institution should not do so, private individuals associated with the college certainly can.

It is hard to see how wearing a campaign button would disrupt education, Such expression would be more likely to enhance it.

Suppression of political views sends the wrong message to students. But we'll see what the court has to say about it.