A kindergarten teacher in Dallardsville, Texas, has filed suit challenging a provision added to the Texas Education Code in 2007 (S.B. 9) requiring school teachers to submit their fingerprint so that a criminal background check can be run on them. The complaint (full text) in McLaurin v. Texas Education Agency, (ED TX, filed 10/30/2009), alleges that teacher Pam McLaurin, who has been teaching for over 20 years, is a devout Christian and believes that submitting a fingerprint is barred by verses in the Book of Revelations that caution against receiving the mark of the beast. Plaintiff claims that the requirement is unconstitutional under the free exercise and due process clauses, and violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Courthouse News reports on the case. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]
UPDATE: The Nov. 17 Lufkin Daily News reported that the court issued a temporary injunction restoring Pam McLaurin's teaching credentials pending the court's decision on the merits of the case. A hearing on the merits is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2010.
