Richard Rodriguez
Jehovah’s Witness. This meant she could no longer participate in some of the following things:
the pledge allegiance, decorate her classroom for holidays, gift exchanges during holiday
seasons, nor singing “Happy Birthday”. She informed her students and parents of her new
beliefs. Once these people knew they were upset and protested to the school’s principal Bill
I will first take the side of the school. It seems to be another open-and-shut case to them
because of the courts more often than not side with the school district than with the teacher. The
first case the school could use as is then case Marchi v. Board of Education which happened in
1999. In this case a special education teacher adjusted his teaching style to include religious
references because he become Christian. The courts stated that Mr. Marchi “did not enjoy the
rights of private citizen during school hours”. In our case the school could say that Ms. White
The next case the school could use for their case is the case of Helland v. South Bend
Community School Corp in 1966. A substitute teacher was let go after proselytizing the
elementary school children. The Court ruled that the teacher was not fired unjustly because “a
school can direct a teacher to refrain from expression of religious viewpoints in the classroom
and like settings”. In our case this is could seem to be the nail in the coffin. The school can on to
say that they advised Ms. White to stop changing everything due personal beliefs.
Now to take the side of Miss White. This is going to be an uphill battle because the past
cases have not been to kind to teachers. To win this case I believe we will have to use cases were
Religion and School 3
teachers lost but put a Twist on the whole issue. The first case will be Roberts v. Madigan from
1990. A teacher had to remove two religious books and stop reading the Bible during silent
reading. Now to Ms. White’s defense she could say the removal of holiday decorations and
parties are showing neutrality to all religions. The mere fact that their normal position of
The second case for her defense should be Downing v. West Haven Board of Education
which happened in 2001. A teacher was ordered to cover up a shirt she had on which said “Jesus
2000”. Now to flip this to our point of view we can question if the school is forcing us to bring
up religion and a time that is not all appropriate to bring up such a sensitive topic. Ms. White’s
In conclusion, this one seems close in truth. Yet I’m going to side with the teacher on this
one. We have always seen only one side of the argument. If she could win this the topic of
References
Hudson, D. I. (2002, September 16). Teachers’ religious liberties. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/teachers-religious-liberties/
MARCHI v. BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES OF ALBANY. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2017,
from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1068488.html
Roberts v. Madigan, 702 F. Supp. 1505 (D. Colo. 1989). (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2017, from
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/702/1505/2252514/
Underwood, J., Webb, D. L.(2006). School Law For Teachers: Concepts and Applications. Upper Sadle River, New