Running Head: Artifact #6 1

Teacher’s Religious Rights

Cynthia Gubler
College of Southern Nevada
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Karen White is a kindergarten teacher who recently converted her religion to become a

Jehovah’s Witness. Due to her new religion, Karen informed the students in her class and their

parents that she could no longer participate in holiday celebrations in her classroom. This meant

that she wouldn’t have holiday decorations in her classroom, there would be no Christmas gift

exchanges, she couldn’t sing “Happy Birthday”, and she couldn’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Some of the parents complained to Principal Bill Ward about this information. The principal

sided with the parents and recommended that she be dismissed since she was not effectively

meeting the needs of her students. Karen is not alone in facing termination due to religious

beliefs and there have been numerous court cases with varying results.

In Minersville School District v. Gobitis, two Jehovah’s Witness students were

disciplined for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance while in school. Walter Gobitis was a new

convert to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and encouraged his two children not to recite the Pledge of

Allegiance while in school. The family lived in a predominantly Catholic city in Pennsylvania

and the Jehovah’s Witnesses were not viewed favorably. As a result of this the children were

bullied at school and the son even had a teacher force his hand out of his pocket to salute the

flag. Both students were eventually expelled and Mr. Gobitis was forced to enroll them into a

private school at his own cost. Mr. Gobitis took the case all the way up to the Supreme Court

where they eventually ruled in the school district’s favor saying that students should be required

to salute the flag while in school since it was a secular policy developed to create national unity.

In Karen White’s case this would mean that her refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance would

be grounds for termination if the precedent of this case was used.

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In Palmer v. Board of Education, Joethelia Palmer was a probationary kindergarten

teacher who sued the Chicago Board of Education when she was fired. Joethelia was a

Jehovah’s witness who refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or even to teach the required

school curriculum because it was in conflict of her religious beliefs. Joethelia refused to teach

her students about certain parts of history that she believed to be too patriotic or anything that

dealt with celebrations such as President Lincoln’s birthday. The school she was working for

fired her as a result of this and she sued them. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the

school district’s favor stating that although Joethelia had a right to religious beliefs, her beliefs

could not hinder her student’s education. Due to her religious beliefs she was choosing not to

cover certain parts of the school’s required curriculum and since she was on probation it was

justifiable not to renew her contract. In the case of Karen White, she is also refusing to celebrate

holidays and also to recite the Pledge of Allegiance which could affect her students.

In Russo v. Central School District No. 1, Susan Russo was a high school art teacher who

was dismissed by the school due to her refusal to salute the flag and to recite the Pledge of

Allegiance. The Pledge of Allegiance would occur during homeroom class where she was not

the only teacher in the classroom. When it was time for the pledge, Mrs. Russo would simply

stand and respectfully face the flag but remain silent, not causing any disruptions to the students.

Mrs. Russo did this due to personal beliefs and it wasn’t until April that parents complained to

the administration. Mrs. Russo was a probationary teacher and the next school year the school

district decided not to renew her contract. Mrs. Russo sued the school district in the Seventh

Circuit Court of Appeals where they eventually ruled in her favor. They mentioned the Tinker

test and how teachers did not lose their right to free speech when they walked into the school.

They also stated that Mrs. Russo was not attempting to push her beliefs onto her students and
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was not being disruptive to the classroom and thus the school district was wrong in not renewing

her contract. Karen White is also entitled to her religious beliefs and freedom of speech and

shouldn’t be dismissed for her refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the West Virginia Board of

Education made it a school requirement to salute the flag and to recite the Pledge of Allegiance

after the decision that was made in Minersville School District v. Gobitis. If a student refused to

recite the Pledge of Allegiance, then they would be expelled and not allowed to return to school

unless they complied with the rule. Marie and Gathie Barnette were Jehovah’s Witnesses and

were instructed by their parents not to recite the pledge or to salute the flag and were

consequently expelled. Their parents sued the school district in court and ultimately the

Supreme Court sided with the parents despite the precedent set in the Gobitis case. The Supreme

Court stated that forcing students to recite the pledge and to salute the flag violated the students’

first amendment rights. In order to overturn the decision in Minersville School District v.

Gobitis, the Supreme Court stated that it was in violation of the Free Speech Clause where the

Gobitis case had been a violation of the Free Exercise Clause. This case applies to Karen White

because again, she has the right to free speech even when at school and it is a violation of these

rights to force her to recite the pledge or to salute the flag.

Ultimately, I believe that Karen White’s dismissal is not justifiable because it would

violate her first amendment rights. Minersville School District v. Gobitis argued that the Pledge

of Allegiance promoted national pride and it was okay to force student to recite it; however, just

three short years late West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette overturned this decision

and stated that it was a violation of student’s first amendment rights. West Virginia State Board

of Education v. Barnette has since been used in many court cases as the precedent when it comes
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to whether or not teachers and students are required to salute the flag or to recite the pledge. In

Palmer v. Board of Education, Mrs. Palmer was let go because she was purposely leaving out

required parts of the curriculum which the court ruled was harmful to the students’ education.

Karen White is not refusing to teach parts of the assigned curriculum, she is simply refusing to

celebrate holidays and to recite the pledge which are not part of the curriculum. In Russo v.

Central School District No. 1, Mrs. Russo refused to recite the pledge but she didn’t attempt to

push her beliefs onto her students and did not cause a disruption to the class by doing so. Karen

White simply alerted the parents of her students that she would not be participating in certain

celebrations or reciting the pledge and does not appear to be causing a scene and it is within her

first amendment rights to not be forced to salute the flag or to celebrate holidays. As long as

Karen White is respectful to her students, does not cause disruptions to the classroom, and does

not attempt to push her religious beliefs onto her students then her dismissal by the school

district was not justified.

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References

Minersville School District v. Gobitis, 310 U.S. 586 (1940).

Palmer v. Board of Ed. of City of Chicago, 603 F.2d 1271 (7th Cir. 1979).

Russo v. Central Sch. Dist. No. 1, Towns of Rush, etc., NY, 469 F.2d 623 (2d Cir. 1972).

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).