Lawsuit alleging a classroom anti-religion bias ignites debate
A lawsuit filed by a student at Capistrano Valley High School in California alleging a classroom anti-religion bias has ignited a flurry of debate about the role a teacher's convictions and faith should play in the classroom. Chad Farnan and his parents filed a lawsuit against James Corbett alleging the Advanced Placement European history teacher made anti-Christian remarks during class in violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the government from promoting religious intolerance. Court papers cite statements tape-recorded by Farnan such as "From conservative Christians in this country to Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan … it's stunning how vitally interested they are in controlling women" and "When you put on your Jesus glasses, you can't see the truth."
Many of Corbett's current and former students have rushed to his defense, saying he not only had the right to criticize traditional Christian viewpoints on topics such as birth control, teenage sex and homosexuality, but that his talks forced students to think critically about their own views. Students say Corbett devotes considerable class time to discussing current events, often bringing in newspaper articles to spark discussion. But his critics say he monopolizes much of his class time promoting his own liberal viewpoints and leaves little room for students to interject.
Federal and district guidelines don't ban teachers from discussing religion, especially in a history class where discussion of religious historical events is common. But teachers are expected to be fair and neither promote nor denigrate religions in their treatment of the topics. "All of his opinions would have been fine with us if he had invited opposing points of view and the class was actually debating," said parent Birgit O'Hearn, 46, of Mission Viejo, who pulled her daughter out of Corbett's class this year. "But the opinions he was putting forth are not opinions that are worthy of an instructor." School officials were more reserved in passing judgment on Corbett. “He's a respected member of our staff, and he deserves the right to provide his defense and have legal counsel,” said Capistrano Unified school board President Mike Darnold. “Obviously, the district will be looking into everyone's rights and responsibilities, and the safety and welfare of the kids.”
The case also has sparked disagreement among legal scholars about its merits and chance of success. UC Irvine's new law dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, who has litigated several high-profile church vs. state lawsuits on the secular side, thinks the lawsuit is "very unlikely to succeed," he said. "Courts will be very reluctant to open the door to students suing when they find the teachers' speech objectionable," Chemerinsky said. But American Civil Liberties Union attorney Peter Eliasberg pointed out that statements such as the one about the "Jesus glasses" could bolster the case. "I think the lawsuit does have a chance," Eliasberg said. "It is not the job of a public school teacher either to be promoting religion or disparaging religion."
Orange County Register By Scott Martindale, with Marla Jo Fisher & Fermin Leal
[Editor’s Note: The legal complaint filed by the litigation group Advocates for Faith and Freedom and the inevitable accompanying press release and fundraising appeal are on the group’s website, below. The second link is to information on a recent incident in New Jersey in which a student surreptitiously recorded his teacher “telling his class that evolution and the Big Bang were not scientific, dinosaurs were aboard Noah’s ark, and only Christians have a place in heaven.” The last link is to a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, WI) that applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 126 S.Ct. 1951 (2006), to find that a teacher had no First Amendment right to express her opinion on the war in Iraq to her class.]
Advocates for Faith and Freedom
NSBA School Law pages on New Jersey incident
NSBA School Law pages on Mayer v. Monroe Cmty. Sch. Corp.