Yesterday the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the actions of a York County, Virginia principal who removed religious-themed material that Spanish teacher William Lee had posted on his classroom bulletin board. The posted articles and photos focused on instances of governmental involvement with religion and on religious activities of a former Virginia high school student. In Lee v. York County School Division, (4th Cir., May 2, 2007), the court rejected the Spanish teacher's claim that his First Amendment free expression rights were violated by the principal's actions. The court held that the items removed from the bulletin board were curricular in nature, constituted school-sponsored speech and bore the imprimatur of the school. This makes the dispute over Lee’s postings of the items merely an ordinary employment dispute, and not a dispute over his right to speak out on matters of public concern. In reporting on the decision yesterday, the Washington Post quoted the head of the Rutherford Institute as saying that it would ask the U.S. Supreme court to review the decision. (See prior related postings 1, 2.) [Thanks to Derek Gaubatz for the lead.]
