By Lori Aratani
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006

The Montgomery County Board of Education is slated to consider a new policy today that would allow parent-teacher associations to send fliers home with students whenever they wanted but limit other community and business groups to distributions four times a year.

The policy proposal follows a federal appeals court opinion this month that found the school system's previous method for distributing fliers unconstitutional because it gave officials unlimited power to accept or reject certain materials. Days after that ruling, Montgomery County school officials announced a temporary ban on take-home fliers from all groups, raising the ire of PTA members who depend on students to carry home materials to communicate with parents.

Jane deWinter, president of the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations, said that with school beginning next week, the timing of the ban could not have been worse. She said the ban has created confusion and angst for PTA members during the busy lead up to back to school and left many scrambling to find alternatives to get the word out about activities and fundraisers.

Under the policy proposed by Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, PTAs would be the only groups allowed to send communications home with students throughout the academic year. Other groups, including community organizations and businesses, would be allowed to distribute materials up to four times a year.

"What we've done here is try to meet the needs of everyone," Weast said. He said school officials were concerned that staff members would be inundated with fliers if all groups had unlimited access.

The school board is expected to review the recommendation today and then refer it to its policy committee, which is slated to meet Wednesday. Once the policy committee reviews the recommendations, they will be sent to the board. If board members unanimously agree, the policy can be voted on during their next meeting, Wednesday, and take effect next Thursday without the usual 21-day comment period.

DeWinter said that the superintendent's proposal is a step in the right direction but that she is not sure it does enough to address the concerns of parent groups.

"We're certainly happy about the idea of getting our access back," she said. "But there is a concern about other parents' groups -- such as booster clubs. Where do they fit in?"

DeWinter said her group plans to have a substantial presence at today's board meeting.

The dispute over what kind of fliers should be sent home with students began in 2001, when Child Evangelism Fellowship of Maryland, a religious group, sought permission to send fliers home with students about its after-school Bible study programs.

When the school system refused, citing concerns about the religious nature of the group's materials, Child Evangelism sued. The school system subsequently developed a policy that allowed certain groups -- including the PTA, youth sports leagues and Boy and Girl Scouts -- to distribute materials, with school system approval. U.S. District Court Judge Peter J. Messitte upheld that policy in March 2005; the appeals court struck it down this month.

School system officials declined to say how much they have spent in legal fees in the case.

Tim Tracey, litigation counsel for the Center for Law and Religious Freedom, which represents Child Evangelism Fellowship, said that he was cautiously optimistic about the proposed policy, which would allow his group to distribute its fliers, but that he wanted to see more details.