ARTIFACT #6 RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Artifact #6

Religion and Public Schools

Kacie Gottenborg

College of Southern Nevada

November 29, 2017

ARTIFACT #6 RELIGION AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

A kindergarten teacher, Karen White, informed both her parents and students that she

would no longer be able to lead certain activities or participate in certain projects because they

were religious in nature according to her newly acquired affiliation with Jehovah’s Witnesses.

This meant that she could no longer decorate her classroom for the holidays or plan for gift

exchanges during the Christmas season. She also could not sing “Happy Birthday” or recite the

Pledge of Allegiance. Parents of the students protested and Bill Ward, the school principal,

recommended her dismissal based on her ineffectively meeting the needs of her students. The

question in this case is whether or not there is justifiable basis for Karen’s dismissal.

The first case I am presenting for Karen White is West Virginia State Board of Education

v. Barnette (1943). In this case the Supreme Court ruled that the Free Speech Clause of the First

Amendment protects students from being forced to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of

Allegiance in public school. Just as the First Amendment protects our right to express our

beliefs, it also prohibits the government from forcing us to proclaim a belief that we do not

believe in. This case shows there is no justifiable basis for Karen’s dismissal. According to

Karen’s new affiliation with Jehovah’s Witnesses she is unable to recite the Pledge of

Allegiance. If the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment protects students from being

forced to say the Pledge, then it should protect Karen and all other teachers as well. I believe

Karen White has the right to remain silent or step out of the classroom during the recitation of

the Pledge if she chooses.

The second case I am presenting for Karen White is Stone v. Graham (1980). In this case,

the Supreme Court ruled that a Kentucky statute was unconstitutional and in violation of the

Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, because it lacked a nonreligious, legislative

purpose. The statute required the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall of
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every public classroom in the state. While the copies of the Ten Commandments were purchased

with private funding, the Court ruled that because they were being placed in public classrooms

they were in violation of the First Amendment. This also shows there is no justifiable basis for

Karen’s dismissal. Bill Ward, the school principal, obviously believes that decorating the

classroom for holidays and doing gift exchanges during the Christmas season are necessary to

meet the needs of the students at his school. Even if the items to participate in these activities

were paid for with private funding, Karen would still be the one decorating the walls of her own

classroom. According to Stone v. Graham (1980), this is a violation of the First Amendment and

Karen does not have to participate in decorating her classroom with holiday decorations that she

finds religious in nature and doesn’t believe in.

Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940) is the first case I am presenting for Bill

Ward. In this case, the Court ruled that public schools could urge students—in this case,

Jehovah's Witnesses—to salute the American Flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance despite

the students' religious objections to these practices. In Lynn, Massachusetts, a third-grader and

Jehovah’s Witness named Carleton Nichols refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and was

expelled from school. The Nichols incident received widespread media attention, and other

Witness students soon followed suit. Schools around the country began expelling Witness

students and firing Witness teachers. It was said that the First Amendment does not require

States to excuse public school students from saluting the American flag and reciting the Pledge

of Allegiance. This case shows there is justifiable basis for Karen’s dismissal. Although she is

now affiliated with Jehovah’s Witnesses, according to Minersville School District v. Gobitis

(1940), it does not mean she can refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. If Bill Ward truly

believes this is part of the reason she isn’t meeting the needs of her students, then she needs to
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put her beliefs aside during school hours and do what is necessary by law. That means reciting

the Pledge of Allegiance, decorating for holidays and exchanging gifts during the Christmas

season.

The second case I am presenting for Bill Ward is Bannon v. Palm Beach County (2004).

In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a high school principal

did not violate a student’s First Amendment rights to free speech or free exercise by requiring the

student to remove religious messages from a mural she had painted as part of a school-wide

beautification project. The court found the speech in question was school sponsored because the

public would reasonably perceive the murals as bearing the school’s imprint or signature.

Applying Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), which governs school-sponsored

expression, the court held the restrictions were reasonably related to the legitimate pedagogical

goals of disassociating the school from religious organizations and the endorsement of religious

views and avoiding disruption to the learning environment from religious debate on the walls of

the school. This case shows there is justifiable basis for Karen’s dismissal. Since the parents

were angry about Karen’s decision to no longer lead certain activities or participate in certain

projects because of the religious nature of them according to her new beliefs, they decided to

protest. By protesting, Bill Ward felt he had no other choice but to recommend her dismissal

because he had pedagogical concerns involving students and the school. Bill Ward needed to

avoid disruption in the learning environment over religious debate and he needed to make sure

the endorsement religion wouldn’t take place.

I think the court will rule for Karen White and hold that there was not a justifiable basis

for her dismissal. West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) protects students

from being forced to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance in public school.
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They have the right to respectfully sit silently or be excused from the classroom during the

recitation of the Pledge. In Stone v. Graham (1980), the Court held that a statute requiring the

display of the Ten Commandments in every public classroom was unconstitutional. Both of these

cases make Bill Ward’s dismissal of Karen White unjustifiable. The First Amendment

guarantees religious freedom in two separate clauses- the Establishment Clause and the Free

Exercise Clause. Schools must be places that treat religion and religious beliefs with fairness and

respect. I think the Court will find that Bill Ward did not treat Karen White with any fairness or

respect when he chose to dismiss her because of her religious beliefs.

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References

Bannon v. Palm Beach County (2004). Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School Law for
Teachers: Concepts and Applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988). Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School Law for
Teachers: Concepts and Applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Stone v. Graham (1980). Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School Law for Teachers:
Concepts and Applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Minersville School District v. Gobitis. (2017, November 11). Retrieved November 30, 2017,
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minersville_School_District_v._Gobitis

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943). FindLaw's United States Supreme
Court Case and Opinions. Retrieved November 29, 2017, from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-
supreme-court/319/624.html