Opinion ID: 24815
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of the First Amendment Forum Framework

Text: 51 Plaintiffs' First Amendment claims can be broken down into two analytical categories: the first involves Kirke's and Johnson's rights at the Math Nights, and the second involves Jenkins's request to distribute a petition through the school mail delivery system. As is evident, the Math Nights attended by Kirke and Johnson and held in the various PISD middle schools are not historically recognized as traditional public forums akin to streets or parks. Similarly, the school delivery system by which Jenkins wished to distribute her petition is not a traditional public forum. See Perry, 460 U.S. at 45. Whether these forums are better characterized as designated public forums subject to strict scrutiny, or limited public / nonpublic forums is a more difficult question.
52 To determine whether a forum such as a Math Night is a designated public forum as opposed to a limited or nonpublic forum, we must first ask whether the Math Nights were purposefully created to facilitate discussion or debate on math curriculum. The Court has recognized that school facilities may be deemed to be [designated] public forums only if school authorities have 'by policy or by practice' opened those facilities 'for indiscriminate use by the general public,' or by some segment of the public, such as student organizations. Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260, 267 (1988) (citations omitted); see also Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 267-68 (1981) (finding university facilities to be limited (i.e., designated) public forums). Additionally, however, the Court has held that events such as school board meetings can rise to the level of designated public forums, such that regulation of public expression at such meetings would be subject to strict scrutiny. City of Madison, 429 U.S. at 174-75 (treating the school board meeting at issue as a designated public forum); Estiverne, 863 F.2d at 378 (noting that the Supreme Court had held a public school board meeting to be a designated public forum). In City of Madison, the Court noted that the public facilities in question had been opened [publicly as] a forum for direct citizen involvement and that the prohibited speech involved a relevant matter of public concern. City of Madison, 429 U.S. at 174-75. Thus, when school district authorities elect to open public school facilities after school hours for public meetings during which public issues will be discussed in a manner similar to a limited-topic school board meeting, the district officials have designated a public forum for the limited time and topic of the meeting. Whether Math Nights were such a designated public forums similar to school board meetings subject to strict scrutiny or more limited public forums subject to less rigorous judicial review depends on what the PISD intended to accomplish through Math Nights. If the PISD intended to present information about the implementation of the pilot Connected Math program and what changes parents of children in the program might expect, such a limited forums would not rise to the level of a designated public forum. If, however, the PISD intended to allow and respond to questions relating to the propriety of Connected Math as a curricular option, and intended to allow debate over the merits of the program, then Math Nights would seem more akin to school board meetings and more rigorous scrutiny of restrictions on speech related to math curriculum would be appropriate. 53 Because this summary judgment record is not clear as to what the PISD intended with respect to Math Nights at the time that the events were organized, we are presently unable to categorize their status as a matter of law. Construing the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the PISD intended to create a forum to facilitate discussion of math curriculum, an important issue of public concern. The agenda handed out to parents as they entered the building specifically allotted time for questions and answers, as well as small group discussion with teachers and district administrators. Moreover, affidavit testimony from Kirke states that Defendants Burleson and Wohlgehagen initially allowed Kirke to distribute materials relating to Connected Math at the first Math Night, held at Haggard Middle School. Such conduct supports a reasonable inference that Defendants initially intended to allow open, yet structured, expression on math curriculum reform at Math Nights. Finally, as the district court noted, it is reasonable to infer from a letter written by Plano Board of Trustees member Muns that the PISD intended Math Nights to provide opportunities for people to express their concerns, positively or negatively, regarding the Connected Math series. Cumulatively, this evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, suggests that Math Nights could have been intended as small-scale school board meetings, at which a math curriculum pilot program was to be discussed and information on its merits provided. Such a meeting could properly be considered a designated public forum, such that regulation of expression on the theme of the meeting would be subject to strict scrutiny. 54 But the record also contains evidence suggesting that the PISD intended the scope of Math Nights to be much more limited. The invitation used to invite parents to attend Math Nights was quite general and made no mention of open debate or presentation of materials by individuals other than district-officials. Kirke, for example, was invited to Haggard Middle School by a flyer that simply stated: You are invited to Haggard Math Night for parents. Moreover, Defendants state in their affidavits 13 that Math Nights were organized to educate parents, not to provide a forum to debate the issue of Connected Math. Finally, Defendants' attempts to restrict distribution of materials at the Math Night, while raising the constitutional concerns about viewpoint discrimination that will be addressed later, also evince an intent to restrict the openness of the forum. 55 The uncertainty as to the PISD's intent with respect to Math Nights also affects our analysis under the extent of the use granted prong. This court has phrased the analytical approach to this element in common-sense terms: [D]oes the character of the place, the pattern of usual activity, the nature of its essential purpose and the population who take advantage of the general invitation extended make it an appropriate place for communication of views on issues of political and social significance[?] Estiverne, 863 F.2d at 378-79 (citations and internal quotations omitted) (alterations in original); see also Doe, 168 F.3d at 820. Curricular discussions are appropriate in school buildings and could be part of a larger pattern of curricular reform debate. By the same token, a school district could have a reasonable interest in educating parents on the implementation of a pilot curricular program without the distraction of having to defend the merits of the program. The difficulty in this case is that we do not know clearly what the PISD intended to accomplish through Math Nights. 56 Our inability to resolve the forum question on this summary judgment record does not affect our resolution of this appeal, however, because Plaintiffs have alleged viewpoint discrimination that would, if proven, violate the First Amendment whether Math Nights were designated or limited/nonpublic forums. See Hobbs v. Hawkins, 968 F.2d 471, 481 (5th Cir. 1992)(noting that forum analysis is not readily susceptible to summary dismissal [pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6)] . . . . especially when the complaint alleges viewpoint discrimination, because viewpoint discrimination violates the First Amendment regardless of the forum's classification.) 57
58 Analysis of Jenkins's request to have her MathChoice flyers distributed through the school mail delivery system also turns on whether the school mail system is a designated public forum or a limited/nonpublic forum. In Perry, the Supreme Court held that a school district's internal mail system was a nonpublic forum. See 460 U.S. at 47. The Court found that because the school district had not opened its mail system up to the general public, it was not a traditional public forum or a designated public forum. Further, the Court held that the grant of selective access to organizations such as the YMCA and the Cub Scouts did not require the school to open up the system to the union literature at issue in that case. See id. Because the PISD in this case has not opened up its school mail delivery system to the general public, under Perry, it is properly considered a limited/nonpublic forum. 59 We recognize that on one occasion, this circuit narrowly construed Perry in reference to another dispute involving a school mail system. See Ysleta Fed'n of Teachers v. Ysleta Indep. Sch. Dist., 720 F.2d 1429, 1433 (5th Cir. 1983). In Ysleta, this court distinguished Perry, finding that a school district had adopted a policy to open the mail system to all employee organizations. The court found that once the school opened its mail system to information from all employee programs, it was a designated public forum for that purpose. See id. 60 However, in Texas State Teachers Ass'n v. Garland Independent School District, this court followed the reasoning in Perry. See 777 F.2d 1046, 1053 (5th Cir. 1985). The Garland court looked at the extent of openness in the school mail system and determined that the selective access of certain groups did not transform the system into an open public forum for use by the petitioning employee organization. See id. at 1052. We find the instant case to be more analogous to Garland, as there is no evidence that the PISD's selective opening of the school mail system was intended to create a designated public forum for use by the general public. Unlike Math Nights, there is no evidence that the PISD intended the school mail system to facilitate debate on issues of public concern. Therefore, under Perry and Garland, we hold that the school mail delivery system is a nonpublic forum. 61