Last year, I wrote about a Spanish teacher in York County, Virginia, whose religious posters were taken down by school officials because they effectively promoted religion. William Lee sued on the argument that his free speech rights were being infringed upon, but a judge saw through this nonsense and threw the case out.

Hampton Roads reports:

“This case is not about what free speech rights Lee has as an individual expressing himself on private property,” Smith wrote in her opinion. “Rather, this case is a question about what free speech rights Lee has as a public school teacher-employee.”

This is the crucial distinction which Christians miss over and over and over again: they imagine that they have the exact same free speech rights when they are sitting at home, standing on a sidewalk, and fulfilling their duties as representatives of the government. A person can promote religion all they want at home and while on the sidewalk, but once they are working as a police officer, DMV employee, or school teacher, they are no longer permitted to say anything they want.

Smith, citing previous federal appeals court rulings, determined that Lee’s posters were part of his instructional tools and school curriculum, subject to school review and not protected by the First Amendment.

Lee’s own testimony helped determine that the posters were there for educational purposes, not personal expression. If they are there for the purpose of educating students, then Lee abandons free speech claims over them; at he same time, he places them under the jurisdiction of school officials. Courts have been unanimous and unambiguous that school officials and school boards have the authority to determine class curricula, not individual teachers.

The opinion also noted Principal Crispin Zanca’s statement that the school has discretion to remove a wide range of postings, “regardless of whatever expression or demonstration of personal interest they may possess,” including materials that include profanity or are otherwise offensive.

“Moreover, news articles and current event articles are posted, but usually only if they pertain to the teacher’s subject matter, such as in a government or history classroom,” Smith wrote in her Feb. 23 opinion. “Consequently, Tabb simply has not given its teachers freedom to express themselves in their classroom in any way they please.”

Classrooms are not public fora where students or teachers are free to express any viewpoints they wish. Because they aren’t public or semi-public fora, the schools can discriminate against certain content all they want:

Smith noted that the pictures were not posted in a public forum. The teacher’s speech was not, Smith ruled, “expressed in the form of a speech at a public meeting, or a letter to the editor, or a presentation to members of the public. The form was postings on walls at the workplace, which only students, co-workers, and other school employees would regularly view.”

Instead of concentrating on teaching his students a foreign language, Lee seems bent on pushing his religious and political beliefs upon his students. Along with the help of an opportunistic legal outfit, Lee has brought unnecessary divisiveness into the high school and forced the school district to spend resources fighting a misguided lawsuit.

Evidently there are plans to appeal this ruling, but that’s a very unwise decision. They will lose and they will keep losing because they simply don’t have any valid legal (or even ethical) arguments. If the posters are an expression of personal ideas, then the school has a right to decide what will and won’t be displayed. If the posters are designed to educate, then the school has a right to decide what will and won’t be displayed. Either way, William Lee doesn’t have any rights being violated here.

 

Separation of Church & State:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Secularism 101
• What is the Separation of Church and State?
• Religion's Place in the Public Square
• Myths About Church/State Separation
• Church and State News
• Church & State Polls

 

Christian & Religious Privilege:

• Religious Privilege
• Christian Privilege
• Hidden Christian Privileges
• Christian Supremacy

 

Religion in Public Schools:

• Religion in Public Schools: News
• School Prayer
• School Holidays: Good Friday & Easter
• School Holidays: Christmas
• Arguments Against School Vouchers