On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Responds to Marple-Newtown Superintendent's Remarks About Lawsuit over Bible-Reading Mother
If the Culbertson School District is truly committed to preparing its students "to be productive citizens," as Dr. Mesaros claims, then they should begin by educating their students about their constitutional rights as they are written in our U.S. Constitution and not as they have been misunderstood by countless school officials, such as those at Culbertson Elementary School. In his May 15, 2005, letter to parents, students and residents of the Marple-Newtown School District, Superintendent Robert A. Mesaros made some fundamental legal and factual errors regarding The Rutherford Institute's lawsuit in defense of the First Amendment rights of a mother who was prevented from reading a Bible passage out loud as part of a "Me Week" kindergarten classroom program intended to feature her son and showcase his favorite book.If Dr. Mesaros truly believes, as he states, that "Our children's education and the protection of their rights and the rights of their families are paramount," then he has an opportunity to give credence to those words by respecting the Busch family's constitutional rights to not be discriminated against because of their religious beliefs. This lawsuit came after months of fruitless attempts to communicate with school officials and their attorneys. Thus, rather than shifting the blame for this lawsuit and any associated costs that may arise to The Rutherford Institute, the Marple-Newtown School District needs to recognize that it has sorely misread the law, mistreated this parent, and abused the trust of countless parents and residents by allowing this situation to reach the point where litigation was the only recourse.
Second, Dr. Mesaros' belief that religion has no place "in the classroom of a taxpayer-funded public school" is, in fact, contrary to the laws of our land. In fact, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that public schools may include instruction on religion in various classroom settings and that this practice does not violate the so-called "separation of church and state" required by the Constitution. Indeed, it would be impossible to include a comprehensive, fair-minded examination of world cultures and history--especially American history--without mentioning religion and religious beliefs. It was, after all, for the sake of religious freedom that many of our forefathers came to this land.
Third, we must point out that there is a vast difference between making a "request" and issuing an order. Contrary to Dr. Mesaros' assertion that school officials "requested that a parent not read a passage from a religious text to a kindergarten class," Donna Busch was ordered by the school principal not to read from the Bible's Book of Psalms as part of a "Me Week" kindergarten classroom program intended to feature her son and showcase his favorite book. This order by school officials did not uphold the law; rather, it violated Donna Busch's constitutional rights by discriminating against her because of her Christian religious beliefs. If school officials were truly applying the law uniformly to everyone, Donna would have been permitted to read a small passage from the Old Testament of the Bible--her son's favorite book, in the same way that other parents have been permitted to read excerpts from their children's favorite books without censorship or prohibition.
Fourth, by stating that "because a public school teacher cannot read aloud from a religious text in a classroom setting, a parent can't do it either," Dr. Mesaros and his legal advisors continue to show their lack of understanding in respect to the First Amendment rights of parents in this kind of situation. In fact, it is not contrary to the law for a teacher, much less a parent, to read from a religious text in a classroom. Again, public schools can include instruction about religions and this certainly would include limited readings from religious texts that are relevant to the subject matter being taught. Moreover, the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that there is a distinction between speech by public and private persons, and that private speech of a religious nature, such as that of Donna Busch, in the public schools does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. In this case, Wesley's classmates certainly would have been capable of recognizing that it was Wesley's mother who was reading from the Bible and not their teacher.
The Philadelphia Inquirer clearly understands the constitutional issues at stake here, as indicated in a recent editorial (May 16, 2005):
The Constitution doe not require a government agency to outlaw on its premises any reference by any private citizen to anything religious. The agency need not pretend that religious faith does not exist or that it doesn't play a huge role in many people's lives. What government must avoid are two things: one, giving official preference to any one viewpoint on religion (including atheism); two, compelling a citizen to do something that violates his religious conscience. Neither principle was at risk in the classroom at Culbertson Elementary School. The principal obviously felt at risk of a sticky situation, but his effort to avoid one just created a bigger mess.
It is our hope that the Marple-Newtown School District would learn this constitutional lesson and stop wasting taxpayers' hard-earned dollars by adopting a stance that opposes everything they claim to stand for: students' rights, the preparation of productive citizens, and the respect of the practice of religion and the place it holds in our communities.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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