A Cupertino public school teacher is suing his district and his principal, who banned him from using excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and other historical documents in his classroom because they contain references to God and Christianity.
Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek Elementary School in the Cupertino Union School District, filed the suit in U.S. District Court on Monday, arguing a First Amendment right to teach the history of our country and its founding fathers, which includes religious, and specifically Christian, references.
"I've never even tried to hint the kids need to believe this, or this is the right religion to believe," Williams told The Daily Review on Wednesday. "I'm just trying to teach history."
The lawsuit alleges the school's principal, Patricia Vidmar, required Williams to submit his lesson plans and the supplemental handouts he planned to use in his classroom for review.
She then prevented Williams from giving students several handouts including:
Excerpts from the Declaration of Independence with references to "God," "Creator" and "Supreme Judge." "George Washington's Prayer Journal."
"The Rights of the Colonists," by Samuel Adams, which includes passages excluding Roman Catholics from religious tolerance because of their "doctrines subversive of the civil government under which they live."
George W. Bush's presidential 2004 Day of Prayer proclamation, with a supplemental handout on the history of the National Day of Prayer.
Several excerpts from John Adams' diary, including the July 26, 1796, passage "Cloudy. ... The Christian religion is above all the religionsthat ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity, let the black guard Paine say what he will; it is resignation to God, it is goodness itself to man."
The suit also alleges that Williams was singled out in the review of his lesson plans and handouts, a violation of constitutional equal protection rights.
Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson of the Alliance Defense Fund, said the principal's policy is a violation of the teacher's First Amendment rights and is blatant censorship of the writings of great men because they mention God or Christianity.
It is a matter of history that the founders were "men of deep religious faith," Thompson said. "To hide this fact from young fifth-grade students is shameful and outrageous. We're not founded by the Boston agnostic club."
The Alliance Defense Fund includes more than 700 attorneys across the country and focuses on legal issues supporting religious freedom, anti-abortion efforts, and marriage between a man and woman only.
District officials would not comment on the lawsuit, saying only they received it and referred it to their attorneys.
University of California, Berkeley, constitutional law professor Daniel Farber said Williams probably does have a constitutional right to teach history with religious content to fifth-graders. But ultimately, courts have deferred to school officials in controlling course content.
"I think his claim that he has a constitutional right to use these materials in a classroom is an uphill battle," Farber said.
UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment expert who teaches a class in law and religion, said, "It's probably good for a school district to teach religion in history because so much of history has been molded by religion."
But only a detailed examination of Williams' teaching materials can show whether he crossed a line of endorsing a religion, and that's a judgment for the school board, not the courts, said Volokh, now visiting at Stanford.
Speaking from his home Wednesday, a school holiday, Williams said the problems started last year after he responded to a student who asked why the Pledge of Allegiance includes the phrase "under God."
Eventually a parent complained, and the principal started requesting his lesson plans and handouts.
The lawsuit does say Williams, who has been teaching eight years, is an "orthodox Christian."
The state's fifth-grade social studies standards include learning about the religious, economic, social and cultural origins of the United States.
Williams said he thinks society has become hypersensitive to any reference of Christianity in the public arena, especially public schools. He said he has taught students about Ramadan and Kwanzaa and was applauded for those lessons.
"People are like, 'Oh, good, that's diversity,'" he said. "As soon as Christianity involved, it's separation of church and state."
ADF attorney Thompson said he hopes the lawsuit
will result in a court ruling saying Williams is "well within First Amendment rights to hand out supplemental materials that are accurate and accurately reflect founding principles of this country."
Williams said he wants to bring attention to how sensitive society has become to religious references, even when it comes to American history. He added he has only respect for Vidmar and the staff at Stevens Creek.
"I really feel blessed to be there," he added.