On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Reverse Ruling Stripping Christian Teacher of Right of Expression in the Classroom
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Rutherford Institute has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a federal appeals court decision that affirmed the right of school officials to censor a Virginia teacher's expression by removing news articles and a poster from his classroom that they considered "too religious." Institute attorneys argue that Tabb High School engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it removed select materials posted by Spanish teacher William Lee in his classroom even though teachers are permitted to post matters of personal and public interest on their classroom walls. The petition filed with the Supreme Court argues that the lower court decision not only violated Lee's First Amendment rights but sets a dangerous precedent allowing school officials to censor any and all teacher expression.
A copy of the Institute's brief is available here.
"For the sake of educators everywhere, Christian or otherwise, we hope the U.S. Supreme Court recognizes the import of this case and weighs in on the side of free speech in the classroom," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "If teachers are so constrained that they have no latitude in the classroom, they're going to have trouble teaching, and it will be the students who end up suffering."
At the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year, Lee posted materials in his classroom, as was the practice among instructors. Tabb High School had a policy of allowing instructors to post upon the walls and bulletin boards of their assigned classrooms pictures and printed/illustrated materials consistent with the educational mission of the school, as well as general and personal materials in keeping with the school's educational objectives. Lee's posted materials included news articles about the 2004 presidential candidates and their religious beliefs, as well as a poster publicizing the National Day of Prayer and depicting George Washington praying at Valley Forge, an article from a newspaper pertaining to the religious faith of President Bush with a picture showing Bush praying, and a news article about former Attorney General John Ashcroft and his prayer meetings with staff members. Lee also displayed pictures and articles relating to the religious practices of pre-Inca and Incan civilizations and posters with emblems representing the pantheon of Mayan creature gods. Lee personally received no complaints from students, parents or staff about the materials posted on his classroom walls.
However, in October 2004, Lee became ill and was forced to be absent from his duties at Tabb High School. Upon returning to school several days later, Lee discovered that a number of materials relating to Christian religious expression had been removed from his classroom walls. In fact, one particular display, comprised of a montage of images, had its references to Christianity and the Christian cross removed, while images that were arbitrarily deemed to be less offensive were left uncensored. In filing suit against the school district, Institute attorneys had argued that school officials were guilty of viewpoint discrimination when deciding that certain postings in Lee's classroom were "too religious" while allowing others to remain. Despite the school's stipulation that the posted materials did not relate to the curriculum, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that Lee's expression was part of the school's curriculum and, thus, school officials had unfettered discretion to censor the materials.
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