Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

Teacher not financially liable for disparaging Christians in class
(By SCOTT MARTINDALE, The Orange County Register, September 16, 2009)

SANTA ANA " A federal judge has ruled that high school history teacher James Corbett is not financially liable for disparaging Christians in class, in violation of a former student's First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge James Selna had issued a tentative ruling last month indicating he would effectively bar 17-year-old Chad Farnan of Mission Viejo from recovering any monetary damages or legal fees in the nearly 2-year-old case, but did not make that ruling final until Tuesday.

"Corbett is shielded from liability " not because he did not violate the Constitution, but because of the balance which must be struck to allow public officials to perform their duties," Selna said in a 33-page decision issued from his Santa Ana courtroom.

In May, Selna determined that Corbett, 62, violated the First Amendment's establishment clause when he referred to Creationism as "religious, superstitious nonsense" during a fall 2007 lecture at Mission Viejo's Capistrano Valley High School.

But the judge on Tuesday shielded Corbett from financial liability under a "qualified immunity" defense, a form of federal protection available to government employees who have violated an individual's constitutional rights.

"Given that qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law, and given the lack of parallel case law, the court finds that the right at issue was not clearly established when Corbett made the (Creationism) statement," Selna said in his ruling.

In a statement released Tuesday, Corbett said Farnan's lawsuit was "needless and pointless" and that it had "sewn discord" in his life and ruined his reputation.

"In my opinion, Chad Farnan has been ill-served in this case," Corbett said in the statement.

"He may find admission to a quality non-Christian school challenging, because such institutions may try to avoid a student who has sued his teacher and his school without making any pre-lawsuit effort to discuss, much less resolve, his claims outside of court," Corbett continued. "The school district has been ill-served because they have been forced to pay for a defense attorney in a case that, in my opinion, never should have been filed in the first place."

Farnan's attorneys, who were working on the case on a pro-bono basis through a nonprofit Christian legal group, vowed to appeal the judge's decision.

"We feel the judge erred in his ruling," said attorney Jennifer Monk of Murrietta-based Advocates for Faith & Freedom. "At the same time, we are happy with the May 1 ruling and it doesn't not take away from the fact that Dr. Corbett violated the establishment clause."

In his lawsuit, Farnan did not seek monetary damages, but he asked that his former Advanced Placement European history teacher be fired or that the court issue an injunction barring Corbett from disparaging religion in class.

Selna ruled against issuing such an injunction; Corbett remains in his teaching position at Capistrano Valley High.

At a hearing two weeks ago, Monk argued that if the judge granted qualified immunity to Corbett, he would be effectively barring her client from appealing the case because Farnan would have to appeal the immunity defense for an appeals court to even consider the merits of the case itself " a scenario she characterized as insurmountable and prejudicial to her client.

But Monk said Tuesday that she would file an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals within 30 days.

"No battle on the Ninth Circuit is easy," she said.

Corbett made his "superstitious nonsense" remark about Creationism during a class discussion about a 1993 court case in which former Capistrano Valley High science teacher John Peloza sued the Capistrano Unified School District, challenging its requirement that Peloza teach evolution.

Corbett's attorney said the teacher was simply expressing his personal opinion that Peloza shouldn't have presented religious views to students. But Selna, after reviewing an audiotape of the discussion made by Farnan, decided Corbett crossed a legal line.

The legal battle began in December 2007, when Farnan, then a sophomore, sued Corbett and the school district, accusing his former teacher of repeatedly promoting hostility toward Christians in class and advocating "irreligion over religion" in violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause.

The establishment clause prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion" and has been interpreted by U.S. courts to also prohibit government employees from displaying religious hostility.

Selna threw out all of the quotes attributed to Corbett except the Creationism comment, and that became the basis of the judge's high-profile May 1 decision against Corbett.

"When Judge Selna last ruled, he found me not liable on 21 of 22 counts," Corbett said in an e-mail Tuesday. "At that time, Robert Tyler, general counsel of the Advocates for Faith & Freedom, said he viewed the decision as a complete victory. Today I'm happy to correct Mr. Tyler " a 'complete' victory is winning on 22 of 22 counts."

science in itself is a threat to their faith?

The entire issue is control of their assembled masses.

A lot of it is ambivalence towards science, or math, or history, or anything that basically baffled them through their (so-called) education.

Procedure crafted for handling evolution-materials complaints
(By WILL SENTELL, Baton Rouge Advocate, September 17, 2009)

The state’s top school board Wednesday approved procedures for residents who object to materials that challenge the teaching of evolution in public school science classes.

The rules, which were praised by evolution critics, stem from a law approved last year by the Legislature.

Backers say the law is needed to give science teachers more freedom to challenge traditional theories, including Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Critics contend the measure, called the Louisiana Science Education Act, is aimed at injecting religious themes into public schools.

The statute allows science teachers to use supplemental materials, in addition to state-issued textbooks, to teach evolution and other topics.

“What’s left hanging are the procedures when a complaint is raised,” said Scott Norton, assistant state superintendent for student and school performance.

The department recommended that any complaints undergo an initial review by a three-member panel named by the agency, then go to the state board for a final decision.

But Dale Bayard, of Sulphur, chairman of the committee that tackled the issue, changed that and the committee went along.

Under Bayard’s change, two reviewers will be named by the department to review the science materials in question as well as one reviewer each named by the challenger, the school and the publisher.

The five-member panel will determine whether the materials:
Promote any religious doctrine, which is banned by the state law;
Are scientifically sound;
Are appropriate for the grade.

Bayard’s committee approved the complaint process without arguments.

Since other board members were there too, committee approval on Wednesday is tantamount to endorsement by the full state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is expected today.

Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum Action, praised the rules and said Bayard’s plan was better than the department’s recommendation.

“Arguably this is the closest thing that would mimic due process,” Mills said in a telephone interview after the meeting. “That seems equitable to me.”

The Louisiana Family Forum, a key backer of the law, says it promotes traditional values.

No one criticized the proposed process for handling complaints.

Barbara Forrest of Holden, a professor and co-founder of the LA Coalition for Science, said in a telephone interview after the meeting that she was not aware that a committee of the state board was discussing the issue on Wednesday.

Forrest, who has criticized the law, called Bayard a point man for the Louisiana Family Forum.

Earlier this year, the state board approved policies that govern the law.

One says that materials used in science classrooms “shall not promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or promote discrimination for or against religion or non-religion.”

Under the rules approved Wednesday, people bothered by materials in a science classroom could file a complaint with the state Department of Education.

A hearing would then be set where each side could tell its story. Reviewers, who are supposed to be experts, can ask questions.

The five reviewers would file reports on whether the materials violate the rules. The department can also make a recommendation.

The state board would then make a final decision.

LOUISIANA UPDATE

Quote:

Procedure crafted for handling evolution-materials complaints
(By WILL SENTELL, Baton Rouge Advocate, September 17, 2009)

Backers say the law is needed to give science teachers more freedom to challenge traditional theories, including Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

There's more question about how our own moon was formed, or the rings around Saturn than evolution.