OLYMPIA, Wash. — The state Court of Appeals handed a major legal victory to the Washington Education Association when it ruled that a law the teachers union had been accused of breaking is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel on June 24 overturned the decision of a lower court judge, wiping out more than $400,000 in fines the union had been ordered to pay.

The state law in question bars unions from using fees from nonmembers for political activity without their explicit permission. It was enacted in 1992 by a public vote on Initiative 132.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank, complained to the state attorney general three years ago that the WEA was breaking that law, and the attorney general pursued the case.

Public school teachers in Washington who don’t join the union, but get all the benefits from the union contract, must pay fees equal to the amount of union dues. Each fall, the WEA sends a notice to nonmembers, notifying them they have the choice to “opt out” and demand that their fees be used only for collective bargaining-related expenses and not for WEA political activity, such as lobbying and campaigning.

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, and then the attorney general, argued that the “opt out” procedure put an unfair burden on nonmembers and violated their rights under Initiative 132.

The appeals court ruled instead that the state law “unduly burdens unions” and “is unconstitutional in light of the U.S. Supreme Court case law” and other case law.

“It’s just so satisfying,” said WEA President Charles Hasse. “To have the court indeed stand up for our constitutional rights and affirm the fact that we have always been operating in good faith is a tremendous victory.”

This week’s court ruling was only the latest chapter in the ongoing battle between the WEA, one of the most powerful political groups in the state, and the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

“The EFF is abusing the law for political gain,” Hasse said yesterday.

The EFF had a different take on the appeals court’s ruling.

“This may be a win for the WEA, but it’s a loss for teachers,” said Evergreen Freedom Foundation spokeswoman Marsha Richards. She said an attorney general’s investigation found that between 4,000 and 8,000 nonunion teachers were affected by the issue of how the 76,000-member union spends nonmember fees.

“Today’s ruling turns the First Amendment on its head,” said Bob Williams, foundation president. “The Court of Appeals has redefined free speech to mean the right of union officials to usurp teachers and speak at their expense.”

The attorney general’s office, not the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, is the plaintiff in the case, so it’s up to that agency whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The case is State ex rel. Public Disclosure Commission v. Washington Education Association, No. 28264-0-II.

Meanwhile, state Supreme Court justices this week grilled an attorney for unionized teachers over a challenge to state guidelines about using public school grounds and resources to spread political messages.

The WEA is trying to preserve a King County Superior Court ruling from last year that struck down the state Public Disclosure Commission’s guidelines on political activity in schools.

The lower court ruled that school employees — including union activists — enjoy free-speech rights to discuss political issues and distribute campaign materials on school property on their own time, and to use the school’s internal mail and e-mail systems to send campaign-related information, including endorsements.

The Public Disclosure Commission appealed, arguing the ruling is a violation of a voter-approved state law barring the use of public buildings and resources for political activity.

Several justices seized on that point June 24 in oral arguments.

“Aren’t you guaranteeing them access to the teachers that the rest of us don’t have?” Justice Barbara Madsen asked Harriet Strasberg, the WEA’s lawyer.

Strasberg said the commission’s guidelines — adopted in 2001 — infringe on the free-speech rights of the union’s members to discuss important issues of public policy and exchange literature in school hallways and classrooms before and after school.

“What this case is about is prohibiting private discussions,” Strasberg said. “They have chilled speech. Our long-standing practice has been the hand-delivery of political material.”

Assistant Attorney General Nancy Krier, arguing for the commission, contended that the guidelines — and the law they interpret — are aimed at preventing the improper use of taxpayer-purchased resources for partisan politics.

“Should we be giving private gain, private benefit, to one side of a campaign over another?” Krier asked, characterizing the case as a wholesale attack on the constitutionality of the law. “There is no heightened constitutional right for public school teachers to use public schools for private purposes.”

Strasberg argued that the union’s use of school buildings and mail systems isn’t targeted by the law, which has been interpreted as applying to campaign activity that involves measurable spending of public money.

Chief Justice Gerry Alexander asked whether the lower court’s ruling opened the door to overt politicking in schools.

“What’s to prevent a union representative from coming into a classroom between classes and putting campaign literature on the desk?” Alexander asked.

Strasberg responded that the union’s practice is to pass out materials and talk among its membership before and after school, when students are not around.

“These are discussions between private employees and not within the realm that the Public Disclosure Commission can regulate,” Strasberg said.

But some of the justices questioned how binding the guidelines are in the first place and asked why they didn’t follow the law to the letter and ban all political activity in schools instead of allowing it in staff rooms.

“Explain to me how that makes any sense at all,” Justice Richard Sanders asked.

The court will likely take several months to rule.

The case is Washington Education Association v. Washington Public Disclosure Commission, No. 72877-1.