By Emily Herx, a teacher at a Catholic school in Indiana who was fired after the school discovered that she used IVF to try to become pregnant. The teacher filed EEOC charges and later a lawsuit in federal court alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and disability. The ACLU has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.
I did not imagine when I began teaching at St. Vincent de Paul School that I would find myself in this position today. I loved teaching, and was devoted to my profession and to my students. When I was fired, I was shocked and saddened.
By Heather L. Weaver, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 1:30pm
Today, many public schools will recognize and celebrate Constitution Day, the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Two hundred and twenty-five years later, you might think we could all agree on a few simple principles regarding how that document, which was amended a few years later to include the Bill of Rights, applies in the schools that will be studying it. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Constitution’s religious freedom protections, a handful of groups are pushing public schools to adopt a lopsided view of religious liberty that could further marginalize students of minority faiths, as well as non-believers, denying them the full benefit of the public education experience.
By Jordan Anderson, ACLU Plaintiff. In late 2011, the ACLU and ACLU of South Carolina brought a lawsuit against Chesterfield County School District on behalf of student Jordan Anderson and his father, Jonathan Anderson. The lawsuit sought to put a stop to the school district’s widespread religious freedom violations, including official prayer at school events, school-day assemblies featuring preaching, and displays of religious symbols such as crosses and the Ten Commandments. The lawsuit resulted in a consent decree restoring religious freedom to all district students. Jordan’s blog is part of this week’s “Religious Freedom Goes to School” blog series.
Every day, students in public schools across the country are facing harsh disciplinary measures that may have dire consequences for the rest of their lives.
That was confirmed this week when the Department of Education released Part Two of its 2009-2010 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), which showed minority students face much harsher punishments and penalties in our nation’s public schools than others.
African-American students are 3 1/2 times more likely than their white peers to be suspended. Though African-American students made up only 18 percent of enrolled students, they accounted for 39 percent of those expelled, and were subject to zero tolerance policies at disproportionate rates. A shocking 70 percent of students arrested or referred to law enforcement were Latino or African-American.
Just how many ways can one public school official violate students' legal rights? The principal of Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tennessee, seems to be going for a record.
At an assembly earlier this month, Principal Dorothy Bond reportedly threatened to expel any gay student who publicly shows affection for members of the same sex. According to students and families who contacted the ACLU, Principal Bond proclaimed that gay students are "not on God's path" and are "going to a bad place." No, the "bad place" is not Haywood High. Rather, as Principal Bond made clear to a lesbian student she earlier singled out for displaying affection for her girlfriend, Principal Bond believes that gay students are "going to hell." Principal Bond also allegedly interfered with efforts to establish a Gay-Straight Alliance at Haywood High and may have prevented students in same-sex relationships from attending the school prom as couples.
By Daniel Bullard-Bates, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 4:17pm
Should local officials be able to start their meetings with prayers that endorse a particular faith? North Carolina State Rep. Michele Presnell thinks so, with one tiny caveat: the faith endorsed must be her own. When asked by one of her constituents whether she would be comfortable with a prayer to Allah before a public meeting, Presnell responded, "No, I do not condone terrorism."
Harrison Hopkins graduated in 2011 from Laurens District 55 High School in Laurens, South Carolina. He is currently a sophomore at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, where he is the founder and current president of the Secular Student Alliance at Presbyterian College. His blog is part of this week’s “Religious Freedom Goes to School” blog series.Share your story about religious freedom in South Carolina’s public schools by reporting potential religious freedom violations to us.
By Dena Sher, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:51pm
Four years ago last month, then-candidate Barack Obama promised to ensure that religious organizations that receive government funds to provide social services abide by the Constitution and are not allowed to discriminate with government funding. Today, we sent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Department of Justice to follow up on that promise.
By Heather L. Weaver, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 4:32pm
March may mean only one thing — the NCAA tournament — for basketball fans, but for Tennessee legislators, March means the revival of a state tradition that is not so worthy of celebration: attacking the teaching of evolution in public schools. A proposed law currently under consideration by the Tennessee legislature seeks to gut science education by purporting to give public school teachers the freedom to help students think critically about the scientific theory of evolution through a review of its "strengths" and "weaknesses."
An ACLU lawsuit filed today challenges a pervasive practice of school-sponsored prayer, preaching and religious activities in a South Carolina school district.
