4th Circuit Says Student Has Standing To Challenge Bible In Schools Program

In Deal v. Mercer Coounty Board of Education, (4th Cir., Dec. 17, 2018), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a West Virginia federal district court and held that a student who had withdrawn from the offending school system (and her parent) had standing to challenge the school system's Bible in the Schools program. It also held that the claim was ripe for adjudication. The Beckley (WV) Register Herald reports on the decision. [case title corrected from earlier post].

Today Is "Bring Your Bible To School" Day

Today is Bring Your Bible to School Day, an event sponsored by Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom, designed to encourage Christian students to spread their beliefs in public schools within the church-state guidelines created by the courts. Sponsors furnish "conversation cards" and posters for participating students to use. A legal memo describes student right to participate in the program. Baptist Press reports on the day. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Oral Arguments In Prayer At Football Games

Yesterday the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments  (recording of full oral arguments) in Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Atletic Association, Inc.  In the case, a Florida federal district court dismissed a suit brought by a Christian high school complaining that it was denied permission to use the stadium loudspeaker system to deliver a prayer at the Championship Game in which its football team was playing.(see prior posting.)

Religious Themed Ad Reinstated On Football Field Amid Broader Litigation

As previously reported, in February four parents sued the Bossier Parish, Louisiana school board alleging widespread Establishment Clause violations. Recently, amidst settlement talks in the litigation, the Benton High School Booster Club sold advertising space on the school's football field to Christ Fit Gym. The business' logo that was placed on the field in the end zone includes a cross and a citation to a bible verse.  KTBS News  and KTAL report that at the recommendation of legal counsel the ad was removed just before the school's homecoming game on Friday, pending consultation with the court. But apparently Christ Fit Gym filed suit in state court against the Booster Club challenging removal of the ad, and a temporary restraining order was issued against the Club.  The Booster Club is not a defendant in the federal lawsuit. The School Board that is a party to the federal lawsuit was not previously aware of the logo, but met yesterday to discuss it.  As reported by Bossier Now, amid increasing pressure the Board, after a two hour executive session, decided to fight the federal lawsuit rather than settle it and to allow back Christ Fit Gym's ad.

School's Mission Trip Fundraising Violated Establishment Clause

In American Humanist Association, Inc. v. Douglas County School District RE-1, (D CO, July 17, 2018), a Colorado federal district court, in a case on remand from the 10th Circuit, held that a school district's promotion and fund raising for a Christian mission trip to assist orphans in Guatemala violated the Establishment Clause.  The court concluded that the school's activities violated both the effect and entanglement prongs of the Lemon test.  The court said in part:

The very concept of a mission trip has religious intimations. The Guatemala mission trip was overtly religious. It was organized by District students and teachers who are part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes; it was planned through a Christian organization called Adventures in Missions: Christian Mission Trips; and the fundraising page for the trip noted “our group’s primary goal is to share the love and hope of Jesus.” ... In addition, the student organizer of the trip testified that “the plan was to . . . introduce [children] to the Bible” and to “promote Christianity.” ... It was no secret to the defendants that the supplies and money donated during the Cougar Run supply drive would be used to directly advance Christian goals.

The court granted summary judgment to the individual plaintiff, but dismissed the associational plaintiff in the case. Denver Post reports on the decision.

Suit Over School's Curriculum on Islam Survives Motion To Dismiss On Pleadings

Hilsenrath v. School District of the Chathams, (D NJ, June 13, 2018), involves a disagreement between a school board and a parent over whether the curriculum in the middle school World Cultures and Geography course unconstitutionally promotes or endorses Islam. According to the court:

plaintiff alleges, C.H. has been exposed to two videos and a worksheet that contain materials that members of the Islamic faith use to express religious beliefs or proselytize others.’ The Complaint begins with a quotation from those materials: “May God help us all find the true faith, Islam. Ameen.” This is captioned as the Chatham school authorities’ “call for the conversion of 7th grade students.” Such materials, the Complaint alleges, have a primary purpose of promoting and advancing the Islamic religion. The Complaint also alleges that the curriculum gives insufficient attention to the Christian and Jewish religions.

The school board responded that:

The videos on Islam ... occupied a small part of the school year. They were part of a curriculum that covered many cultures and religions and would have been understood in that context.

The court refused to dismiss the complaint at the pleading stage, concluding:

However valid, or not, the defendants’ arguments may turn out to be, they furnish no basis for dismissal of the complaint. The information about the totality of the curriculum, for example, does not appear on the face of the complaint. And the sensitive balancing required by Lemon cannot be performed on the basis of mere allegations. Such considerations are simply premature.

Consent Decree Settles Louisiana Religion In Schools Lawsuit

Last week, a Louisiana federal district court approved a consent decree (full text) in Cole v. Webster Parish School Board, (WD LA, May 11, 2018).  The suit charged that the school district extensively promoted Christianity in its schools. (See prior posting.)  The consent decree bars prayers at school events, bars religious baccalaureate services, prohibits holding school events at religious venues and bars school officials from promoting their personal religious beliefs to students in class or at school events.  ACLU issued a press release announcing the consent decree.

Challenge To Teaching Islam In History Curriculum Is Rejected

In Wood v. Arnold, (D MD, March 26, 2018), a Maryland federal district court dismissed a lawsuit by a high school graduate and her father complaining (1) that the school violated the Establishment Clause by teaching Islam in its World History course; (2) violated the student's free speech rights by requiring her to "confess" the Shahada; and (3) engaged in retaliation and suppression of speech in banning the student's father from school grounds after he expressed opposition to the school's curriculum. Summarizing its holding, the court said:

the First Amendment does not afford the right to build impenetrable silos, completely separating adherents of one religion from ever learning of beliefs contrary to their own, Nor, in this Court's view, does it prohibit a high school teacher from leading a purely academic study of a religion that may differ from the religious beliefs of some of his students.

Plaintiffs' Establishment Clause argument centered on a statement made by the World History teacher that "most Muslims faith is stronger than the average Christian". The court rejected plaintiffs'argument that the statement should be taken in isolation from the remainder of the curriculum, but concluded that even taken alone the statement, in the context it was made, did not violate the Establishment Clause.

Rejecting plaintiffs' compelled speech argument, the court held that requiring students to fill in the blanks in a quiz on the Shahda was merely aimed at fostering an understanding of the significance of the statements to Muslims.

Finally the court rejected the father's complaint about his exclusion from school grounds, finding that the father's statements on Facebook suggested that he was planning to cause disruption at the school.

7th Circuit: School's Christmas Pageant Does Not Violate Establishment Clause

In Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Concord Community Schools, (7th Cir., March 21, 2018), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a revised version of an annual Christmas Spectacular put on by an Elkhart, Indiana high school does not violate the Establishment Clause.  The court describes the revised pageant's challenged second half:

the show spends about four and a half minutes each explaining and performing a song to represent Hanukkah and another for Kwanzaa. Images are projected onto large screens to accompany both songs. For the remaining 20 minutes, students perform numerous Christmas songs that are more religious in nature (e.g., “Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head,” “O Holy Night”). During one of the songs, a nativity scene appears on stage for two minutes. The manger uses mannequins, not student actors. There are no New Testament readings.

The court explained its conclusion as follows, in part:

It is worth emphasizing that no one factor alone—the secular first half, the nativity’s lack of prominence, the inclusion of other holidays—leads us to conclude that the 2015 Spectacular passes muster under the endorsement test. Overall, the 2015 performance in its current form would not cause a reasonable observer to believe that Concord is signing off on a particular religious message....

Although the matter is not open‐and‐shut, we see no reason to reverse the district court’s conclusion on summary judgment that the 2015 show did not pressure individuals to support any religious beliefs.

Education Week reports on the decision.

Christian Student Group Sues Over Decertification

The InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Wayne State University has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the University's action removing its status as a recognized student organization.  The complaint (full text) in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/ USA v. Board of Governors of Wayne State University,  (WD MI, filed 3/6/2018), alleges that the action was taken against it because of the organization's requirements that its leadership share its Christian faith and affirm the group's statement of faith.  The university contends that this violates its non-discrimination policy.  InterVarsity has operated on Wayne State's campus for 75 years.  the complaint claims that the University's action violates various federal and state constitutional and statutory provision.  Detroit News reports on the lawsuit.

UPDATE: According to a press release from Becket, two days after the suit was filed the University reinstated InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, at least temporarily.

Louisiana School District Sued Over Prayers and Proselytizing

Four parents yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the Bossier Parish, Louisiana school board alleging widespread Establishment Clause violations.  The complaint (full text) in Does 1-4 v. Bossier Parish School Board, (WD LA, Feb. 7, 2018) alleges in part:

3. School officials throughout the Bossier Parish School System regularly deliver or promote the delivery of Christian prayers at school-sponsored events.  Prayers begin and often end graduation ceremonies, sporting events, sports teams’ practices and banquets, pep rallies, and student-council meetings. Many of these school-sponsored events are also held in churches, including within the sanctuary or other rooms bearing religious iconography, thus creating an atmosphere closer to Sunday school than to public school.

 4. What is more, some Bossier Parish teachers proselytize during class, pray aloud for students, require young students to memorize sectarian prayers, and tell students of all religious backgrounds that to be a good person one be Christian.  Bossier Parish teachers and administrators have also placed religious displays in their classrooms and offices, advertised events sponsored by local churches, and incorporated religious teachings, beliefs, or doctrine, like Creationism, into the curriculum. Further, some Bossier Parish teachers, staff, and administrators have endorsed and conferred special favors on sectarian religious clubs and have developed practices that expose the private beliefs of students who do not wish to participate in these organizations, subjecting these children to coercive pressure to join, and ostracization by their classmates if they do not. 

Americans United issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

School District Sued Over Middle East Geography Curriculum

The parent of a New Jersey middle school student filed suit this week against The Chathams school district claiming that the Middle East and North Africa unit of the 7th-grade Geography class violates the Establishment Clause by promoting Islam.  The complaint (full text) in Hilsenrath v. School District of the Chathams, (D NJ, filed 1/23/2018), alleges that an Intro to Islam Video on the Google Classroom assigned to the geography class was a "nearly five-minute long video [which] seeks to convert viewers to Islam and is filled with the religious teachings of Islam presented, not as beliefs, but as facts."  It also contends that an assigned animated presentation on the 5 Pillars of Islam seeks to convert students to Islam.  Thomas More Law Center issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.

Impact On The Ground of School-Prayer Lawsuit

As previously reported, in December the mother of a Louisiana high school student filed suit against a local school board alleging extensive Establishment Clause violations.  Yesterday, CNN took an in-depth look at the extent to which religion has pervaded Lakeside Junior/High School, and at the impact on students and parents of the school's decision, in response to the pending lawsuit, to end recitation of the Lord's Prayer each morning.

School District Says First Amendment Bars District Diwali Holiday

According to Fox4News yesterday, Coppell Independent School District in Texas has refused requests to schedule a day off from school during Diwali. Nearly half the students in the school district are Asian.  The school board however took the position that principles of separation of church and state prevent it from recognizing a religious holiday.  When proponents argued that the district schedules a holiday on Good Friday, the school district responded that Good Friday is considered a professional development and bad weather make-up day.

Louisiana AG and Rep Release Pamphlet On Student Religious Rights

As reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, yesterday Louisiana's attorney general and one of its members of Congress released a new 15-page publication Louisiana Student Rights Review: Answers to Common Questions About Religious Freedom In Schools. The Introduction to the Q&A format pamphlet says in part:

The right to religious expression, in particular, has been increasingly challenged and misunderstood in recent years, and many people have been led to believe our elementary and secondary schools must be “religion-free” zones. To the contrary, both federal and state laws specifically protect religious freedom rights in public schools. Thankfully, Congress and our state legislature still recognize the fundamental importance of religious liberty—the first freedom listed in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Suit Charges Louisiana School Promotes Christian Beliefs and Broadcasts Daily Prayer

In Louisiana yesterday, the mother of a high school student filed suit against a local school board alleging extensive Establishment Clause violations.  The complaint (full text) in Cole v. Webster Parish School Board, (WD LA, filed 12/18/2017) alleges in part:

2 ... [T]he Webster Parish School District has a longstanding custom, policy, and practice of promoting and inculcating Christian religious beliefs by sponsoring religious activities and conveying religious messages to students, including by broadcasting prayers daily over school speakers.

3. So engrained is official promotion of religion at Webster Parish schools that virtually all school events—such as sports games, pep rallies, assemblies, and graduation ceremonies—include school-sponsored Christian prayer, religious messages and/or proselytizing. Graduation ceremonies are frequently held in houses of worship, and at times they resemble religious rituals that include Bible verses and Christian prayers.

The ACLU issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit. Shreveport Times reports on the lawsuit.

School Graduation In Christian Chapel Violates Establishment Clause

In American Humanist Association v. Greenville County School District, (D SC, Dec. 12, 2017), in a case on remand from the 4th Circuit (see prior posting), a South Carolina federal district court held that a South Carolina school district's practice of holding elementary school graduation ceremonies in the Christian Chapel of a local university violates the Establishment Clause. The court awarded plaintiffs $1 in nominal damages. The court said in part:

... [T]his ruling is limited to the specific facts of this case and should not be construed as a bright line rule regarding a school district’s use of a church-owned facility.... The fact that the district chose to hold the ceremony (which included school-endorsed Christian prayers) in a clearly Christian place of worship in the presence of religious iconography, including, among other things, a cross on the podium and eight stained glass windows depicting Christian imagery, only further created a likelihood that observers would perceive the district as endorsing a particular set of religious beliefs. There has been no showing that the chapel was the only available venue for the graduation ceremony, and in view of the overall circumstances of the event, there can be no doubt that the setting in which the ceremony occurred conveyed a message of religious endorsement and created a likelihood that the school-aged children would perceive a link between church and state.

 In a prior opinion in the case, the court had concluded student-led prayer at the school's past graduation ceremonies was unconstitutional.  In this case, the court held that the organizational plaintiff has standing to challenge the school's revised prayer policy as it is being applied.  Plaintiffs claim that as implemented, the revised policy merely continues past practices.  The court ordered the parties to attempt mediation before proceeding further. American Humanist Association issued a press release announcing the opinion.

Bible In Schools Case Dismissed On Standing and Ripeness Grounds

In Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Mercer County board of Education, (SD WV, Nov. 14, 2017), a West Virginia federal district court dismissed on standing and ripeness grounds a lawsuit challenging a Bible in Schools class offered for over 70 years in Mercer County elementary and middle schools.  Shortly after the lawsuit challenging the program was filed, the county Board of Education voted to suspend teaching of the course for a least a year in order to undertake a review and modification of the curriculum.  While one plaintiff who transferred to another school was found to lack standing, other plaintiffs had standing.  The court nevertheless dismissed because:

the Bible in the Schools program of which plaintiffs’ complain is not currently offered nor will it be offered in the future. Furthermore, should a Bible in the Schools curriculum reemerge, the court has no information before it to determine the content of such a class.... Therefore, until the Bible in the Schools curriculum that Jamie Doe will actually encounter "is presented in clean-cut and concrete form,"... this action is not ripe for judicial review.

FFRF issued a press release announcing the decision. First Liberty also issued a press release on the decision.

7th Circuit Hears Arguments On Christmas Pageant Challenge

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard oral arguments in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Concord Community Schools. (Audio of oral arguments).  In the case, an Indiana federal district court upheld the constitutionality of a modified version of the annual Christmas Spectacular put on by an Indiana high school.  Plaintiffs had challenged the pageant under the Establishment Clause. The court had previously issued a preliminary injunction against the 2014 and proposed 2015 versions that included a live Nativity Scene and Bible passages. (See prior posting.)  Subsequently the court awarded nominal damages and a declaratory judgment as to the earlier versions. (See prior posting.)  Courthouse News Service reports in more detail on yesterday's oral arguments.

Cheerleaders Can Move Ahead With Suit Over Religious-Themed Run-Through Banners

In a long-running dispute, a Texas state appeals court in Kountze Independent School District v. Matthews, (TX App, Sept. 28, 2017), held that run-through banners made and used by high school cheerleaders were private speech rather than government or school-sponsored speech. The cheerleaders sued when the school prohibited their placing religious messages on their banners. The court held that the cheerleaders' private speech is protected by the First Amendment and that the state has waived governmental immunity for suits alleging unconstitutional actions. (See prior related posting.)