Karen White, a kindergarten teacher, informed her parents and students that she could no longer lead certain activities or participate in certain projects because they were religious in nature, according to her newly acquired affiliation with Jehovah's Witnesses. This meant that she could no longer decorate the classroom for holidays, or plan for gift exchanges during the Christmas season. She also could not sing "Happy Birthday" or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Parents protested, and Bill Ward, the school principal, recommended her dismissal based on her ineffectively meeting the needs of her students.
1. What grounds does Bill Ward have to recommend dismissal?
2. Are these valid grounds? Why or why not?
3. If Karen White is an otherwise competent and effective teacher, how defensible can the principal's charges be?
4. Is the school in violation of Karen's religious rights? Why or why not?
5. How do you think the courts would rule in this case? Provide a rationale.
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1. Bill Ward and the school system will most likely be sued by Karen White and the ACLU. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 addresses any form of religious discrimination regarding employment. Religion is defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include “all aspects of religious observances, practices and beliefs.” School officials may not justifiably prohibit or penalize a teacher in any manner for exercising a constitutionally protected right without showing that a legitimate state interest is affected by the teacher’s speech or expression (Essex, 2012). These rights should be respected to the extent that they do not violate the integrity of the community or render the teacher or administrator ineffective in performing professional duties.
ReplyDelete2. Bill Ward has no grounds to recommend Ms. White’s dismissal based on the information provided. Only if Ms. White’s private (religious) conduct becomes detrimental to her reputation or if her relationships with parents and students become impaired and render her ineffective in executing her duties, should actions be taken by school officials concerning her dismissal. The dismissal would only be supported by the courts if she were making the children feel like they were wrong to sing “Happy Birthday” or participate in holiday or their own personal religious activities. Ms. White could avoid the possibility of her new religious restrictions adversely affecting the students by asking another teacher or aide to host Birthday parties and recite the “Pledge of Allegiance” with students. The courts would not support Ms. White’s conduct if it were proven to have an adverse impact on her effectiveness or performance. The courts would support her dismissal if professional conduct and community standards were violated.
3. The facts provided are not valid grounds for Ms. White’s dismissal. There is no evidence that her religious affiliation or conduct has an adverse impact on her effectiveness or performance as a teacher or that she is making the children feel uncomfortable. The U.S. Supreme Court has famously noted that “it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate” (Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969). Ms. White still has her rights to freedom of religion and could not be validly dismissed based on the information provided.
4. Mr. Ward’s actions are indefensible according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Early American statesmen believed that a person’s religious beliefs could and should occupy an important sphere in the private lives of American citizens (Kiracofe, 2010). Because of the separation of church and state that they desired, they created the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause for the protection of citizens in cases such as the one described here.
5. Teachers and administrators do not lose their constitutional rights when they enter an education profession. Within limits, they possess the same constitutional rights as do other citizens. The school is in violation of Ms. White’s religious rights.
6. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 addresses any form of religious discrimination regarding employment. This section also requires that an employer, including a school board, make reasonable accommodations to the employee’s religion, unless the employer can demonstrate the inability to do so based on undue hardship caused by trying to meet those accommodations. Consequently, school officials must respect and, where possible, make allowances for teachers’ religious observances. Since Ms. White was recommended for dismissal without proof that she was ineffective or compromising her professional duties, the courts would rule in her favor.