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Portfolio Assignment #6

Christian Wilson

College of Southern Nevada

EDU 210-1002

Dr. Nancy Webb

15 March 2020
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Karen White is a kindergarten teacher who has a recently affiliated herself with

Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because of this new affiliation, she has decided to not lead activities or

projects that she deems to be religious in nature and has informed the parents of her students on

her new policy. This also means that she would no longer celebrate holidays, such as Christmas,

via decoration, gift exchange, and other kinds of planning in relation to these holidays. She

would no longer sing the Pledge of Allegiance or sing “Happy Birthday” either. The parents of

these students decided to protest and as a result, the schools principal, Bill Ward, believed that

she failed to meet the needs of her students and recommended her dismissal. Does Karen White

have any basis against the case for her dismissal?

In Doe v. Harlan County School District, plaintiff Sarah Doe is suing the district for

violating her first amendment right to freedom of expression. Sarah Doe was found to be

displaying the Ten Commandments around the school, along with other religious documents.

When Doe was required to take those documents down, she filed suit. The Courts found that

these displays around the school could not pass the Lemon Test, in that no secular purpose was

found, and that a regular passerby would think that the displaying of these documents would be

an endorsement of religion. Karen White could use this in her defense because she is doing the

opposite Sarah Doe, in that she is choosing not to display things that she deems religious in

nature, rather than putting religious things on display herself.

The case of Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District is another case Karen White could use in

her defense. In this case, Barbara Wigg is suing the district for telling her she could not

participate in an after-school religious club. The concern of the school was that because she was

a teacher participating in a religious club, the public could perceive this as a government

endorsement of religion. However, the Courts took the side of Wigg, stating that because the
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club took place after school hours, Wiggs participation would not interfere with the function of

the school meaning she could attend the club as a private individual.

The case of Epperson v. Arkansas could be a case used against Karen White. In this case,

the Courts attempted to strike down and Arkansas law prohibiting the teaching of evolution. In

this case, Susan Epperson sued the state because she came across a textbook she was supposed to

teach to her students that included the ideas of evolution. She faced a hard choice because

teaching out of this textbook was required for the class, but in doing so she could face dismissal.

As a result of the decision, the Courts took the side of Epperson stating that, “The state has no

legitimate interest in protecting any or all religions from views distasteful to them.” This case

could be a problem for Karen White because the only reason why she wouldn’t celebrate

holidays or lead projects/activities in her classroom would be because the religious nature of

these things are distasteful to her own religion.

One more case that could prove to be troublesome to Karen White is Downing v. Haven

Board of Education. In this case, Ella Downing, a high school teacher, was asked to either cover

up, or go home to change her shirt for its religious slogan. The shirt in question had written on it,

“Jesus 2000 j2k”. Soon after receiving these instructions, she filed suit, claiming that this was a

violation of her first amendment right to freedom of religious expression. The courts took the

side of the district in this case because they did not see her where the shirt as a practice of her

religion, rather that they saw it as a communication of her religious views. They saw no violation

of her rights.

Keeping all of these cases in mind, the argument in defense of Karen White is a tough

one. Her practicing her religion by choosing not to sing “Happy Birthday” or to recite the Pledge

of Allegiance can reasonably be seen as her practicing her religion. This would be because she is
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not communicating her views to the children in this was and it is private affair, only affecting

herself and nobody else around her. However, the refusal to lead or participate in

projects/activities determined by the curriculum, as well as choosing not to celebrate national

holidays, could easily be seen as an endorsement of her religion to a passerby because her room

would visibly look different to other classrooms during the holidays. This blatant display of her

religion could also be seen as a communication of her religion in the same sense. Although there

would be no religious documents or symbols being displayed, the emptiness of the classroom,

and absence of her instruction on certain occasions, would be too difficult to ignore. Karen

White has no legitimate defense.

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References

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/96/667/2421000/
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14455306945405767429&q=wigg+v.
+sioux+falls+school+district&hl=en&as_sdt=6,29&as_vis=1
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/393/97
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/162/19/2320366/