GREEN: A Green Middle School language teacher accused of proselytizing to her students has agreed to stop assigning religious projects.
The Green Local School district was contacted by letter last month by an attorney from the Freedom From Religion Foundation who asked that the teacher cease including religious assignments as part of her students’ journal requirements. The letter outlined monthly assignments from December to March that asked students to:
• Copy a verse or two of their favorite Christmas carol, with a drawing of a gift with a tag reading “Merry CHRISTmas!”
• Write and illustrate a prayer for the new year.
• Copy the Bible verse John 3:16 into your journal and write about how perfect God’s love is (optional).
• Illustrate Isaiah 11:6...The Peaceable Kingdom. Look up Edward Hicks and write a little about him.
“The assignments, optional or not, are unconstitutional in a public school. Public schools cannot endorse religion over nonreligion or one religion over another,” said Ryan Jayne, an attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. “The assignments of this teacher were always from the Christian Bible and no other faith traditions. The pattern showed that this was religious instruction being snuck into the curriculum.”
Both Jayne and Green Local Schools Superintendent Jeffrey L. Miller II agree that religion is permitted as part of the curriculum in public schools when it is part of the study of comparative religion or the history of religion.
Miller said that whenever the district receives concerns about the inappropriate use of religion, it investigates to make sure there is no violation of law or district policy.
“Regardless of where the concern comes from — a parent, student or organization like the Freedom From Religion Foundation — we look into it and, dependent on the facts, we act in accordance,” Miller said. “As a public school entity, it is important that we follow the law and we want to be respectful of everybody, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs.”
Miller met with the teacher and instructed her to discontinue the use of religious references in her assignments and the teacher agreed to comply with the directive, according to a letter sent from the district’s legal counsel to the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Because personnel issues are confidential, Miller said he was not at liberty to discuss details.
The teacher was not available for comment.
Jayne said questions about the teacher’s assignment were raised by a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation who lives in the Green school district community.
The Madison, Wis.-based nonprofit (www.ffrf.org) claims 23,000 nonreligious members nationwide, including 600 in Ohio. Its mission is to educate the public about nontheism and to protect the constitutional separation of government and religion.
Last month’s exchange between the nonprofit and Green Local Schools is the second in as many years. Last year, the charity wrote to the district questioning the inclusion of student-led prayers at an honors banquet and a senior awards program.
In a letter responding to the foundation’s complaints, counsel for the district said the superintendent had instructed his administrative staff that prayers, even if initiated by a student, would not be permitted.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.