On The Front Lines
John W. Whitehead and Donna Busch Appear on 'Fox & Friends,' Fox News Channel
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, and client Donna Busch appeared as guests on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, on Thursday, May 26, 2005, at 7:45 a.m., EST. Whitehead and Busch talked about a suit filed earlier this month by The Rutherford Institute in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in defense of the First Amendment rights of Mrs. Busch 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.The case began in October 2004, when Donna Busch accepted an invitation to visit her son Wesley's kindergarten classroom at Culbertson Elementary School in Newtown Square, Penn., and read an excerpt of Wesley's favorite book to his classmates. Wesley's teacher had invited Mrs. Busch because Wesley was the featured student of "Me Week," a school program intended to feature a particular student during the week and emphasize that student's personal characteristics, preferences and personality in classroom activities. One activity made available to all featured students during "Me Week" is the opportunity to have the child's parent read aloud from his or her favorite book. Wesley, a Christian, had chosen the Bible as his favorite book, feeling that a reading from the Bible would express to the class an important aspect of his life and personality. Mrs. Busch chose to read an excerpt from Psalm 118 of the Bible. However, on the day of the reading, Wesley's teacher directed Mrs. Busch not to read the passage until the principal had determined if it could be read to the class. When Principal Thomas Cook was summoned to the classroom, he informed Mrs. Busch that she could not read from the Bible in the classroom because it was against the law and that the reading would violate the "separation of church and state." Mrs. Busch was then offered the opportunity to read from a book about witches, witchcraft and Halloween, which she declined to do. One day after the incident, Wesley saw his Mother reading the Bible and informed her that it was bad to read the Bible. When asked why he thought this, Wesley said that his teacher had told him so.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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