Judge rules against creationist teacher who called Buddhist student’s faith ‘stupid’
By Scott Kaufman
Monday, March 17, 2014 10:28 EDT
Monday, March 17, 2014 10:28 EDT
The parents of a Buddhist student in Louisiana ridiculed by a creationist teacher won their lawsuit against the school district, the American Civil Liberties Union revealed Friday.
The
student, known as C.C., was asked by sixth-grade teacher Rita Roark to
answer the following question on a test: “ISN’T IT AMAZING WHAT THE
_____________ HAS MADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!” When C.C.
failed to respond “Lord,” Roark responded “you’re stupid if you don’t
believe in God.” She also frequently denigrated his Buddhist faith, as
well as the Hindu faith, referring to both as “stupid.”
When
his parents complained to Sabine Parish Superintendent Sara Ebarb, they
were told that “this is the Bible belt,” so they
should expect to find the Christian God in the classroom. Ebarb advised
them that if they wanted an ungodly classroom, they should transfer
C.C. to a school where “there are more Asians.”
Judge Elizabeth Foote of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana sidedwith
C.C. and his parents, citing that Roark’s behavior — and the school’s
decision to defend it — clearly violated “the Free Exercise and
Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.”
With
regard to the specific behavior of Roark, Judge Foot wrote that “[t]he
District and School Board are permanently enjoined from permitting
School Officials at any school within the School District to promote
their personal religious beliefs to students in class or during or in
conjunction with a School Event.” Furthermore, “School Officials shall
not denigrate any particular faith, or lack thereof, or single out any
student for disfavor or criticism because of his or her particular faith
or religious belief, or lack thereof.”
She
also ordered that all members of the school board, as well as all
faculty — both current and incoming — be trained by an attorney approved
by the ACLU and the ACLU of Louisiana as to their responsibilities with
respect to the First Amendment. The training will emphasize the “the
psychological and developmental impact of religious discrimination on
students.”
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