Science Teacher Settles Establishment Clause Lawsuit By Student

Details have now become available of a previously reported settlement in an Establishment Clause lawsuit brought on behalf of a student against Mount Vernon, Ohio middle school science teacher John Freshwater. Freshwater posted the Ten Commandments in his classroom, kept a Bible on his desk, and allegedly engaged in a science experiment that resulted in a mark in the shape of a cross being placed on the student's arm. Yesterday's Mount Vernon (OH) News reports that the settlement in the federal court lawsuit still requires approval by a state probate court judge (see Ohio Rev. Code Sec. 2111.18). As part of the settlement, the student's parents (plaintiffs in the case) agreed to forgo recovery of sanctions awarded to them by a federal district judge after Freshwater failed to comply with various court orders. Under the settlement, the school district's insurance company will pay $300,000 to the parents for mental pain and other suffering, and separately $150,000 will be paid over the next 13 years to buy an annuity for Zach Dennis, the student on whose behalf the suit was filed. Finally $25,000 in attorneys' fees will be paid to plaintiffs' counsel. Last week, Freshwater asked a federal court to dismiss his free exercise of religion lawsuit against the Mt. Vernon school board. (See prior posting.)