Religious Expression Case Analysis and Rationale

Part 1: Case Analysis

1. Brief summary of the case:

A Middle School has decided to offer a religious studies course that will include

using the Bible as one of the textbooks for the course. The proposal is being prepared by

two classroom teachers and will be presented during the next school site meeting. After

the meeting, the final document will be prepared and presented to the district for

approval. However, a neighbor of one of the teachers has been made aware of this

possible new curriculum and she is not in agreement of the Bible being part of the

curriculum. She has notified the media and shown up to the school site meeting to protest

the new curriculum program.

2. Identify the issues to be resolved:

 Is using the Bible as a textbook a violation of the US Constitution? Will other

religious text be included in the curriculum?

 Does this violate the separation between church and state?

 What will be the guidelines that are in place to ensure that the curriculum is

aligned with the instructional practices and not a promotion of religious doctrine?

3. Stakeholders involved in the issues:

 The principal who approves the curriculum
 The teachers that will create/teach the course
 The students that will enroll or not enroll in the course

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  The community where this course will be taught
 The school board/members
 State lawmakers that are overseeing the public-school sector
 The media that are providing coverage on this issue

4. One or two existing laws or court rulings that relate to the issues:
 The 1963 case that dealt with reading the Bible in public schools:  Abington

School District vs. Schempp. During this ruling there was a law requiring that

Bible reading happened at the beginning of each school day. Edward Schempp

believed this to be unconstitutional and the courts agreed in an 8-1 decision that

reading the Bible in public schools unconstitutional. However, the court later

added that the “Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities.”

 1960 Murray v. Curlett this case sought to prohibit Bible reading in the Baltimore

public schools

5. District policies that relate to the issues: (Provided by the School Board Bylaws and
policies )
 Based on the First Amendment protection from the establishment of religion in

the schools, no devotional exercises or displays of a religious character will be

permitted in the district in the conduct of any program or activity under the

jurisdiction of the School Board. Instructional activities shall not be permitted to

advance or inhibit any religion or religion generally.

 That such materials may be religious in nature shall not, by itself, bar their use by

the district. The Board directs that instructional staff members employing such

materials be neutral in their approach and avoid using them to advance or inhibit

religion in any way.

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  The curriculum is chosen for its place in the education of the district’s students,

not for its conformity to religious principles. Students should receive unbiased

instruction in the schools so they may privately accept or reject the knowledge

thus gained, in accordance with their own religious tenets.

6. Possible solutions to the issues:

 Denial of the new religious studies course

 Adding additional historical religious documents as textbooks that will be taught

in the course i.e. the Koran.

 Having a townhall style meeting prior to the approval of the course curriculum

and outline what will be taught and the training that the teachers will receive that

will teach the course. Allowing stakeholders to be aware of the laws and policies

that allow the teaching of religious material in public schools.

 Set up a media release so there is transparency when it comes to the development

of this new curriculum

7. The solution you choose to resolve the issues:

 The school has the right to implement this curriculum based on the precedent of

previous court cases. Therefore, I would like to proceed with the proposal of the

religious studies course. I would create the townhall meeting so that everyone that

would like to be heard has that opportunity and take that time to explain the

purpose behind this course. To assist with the concerns, I would outline the steps

that would be in place to ensure that the curriculum remained secular, ensuring

the exclusion of promoting religious doctrines.

8. Action steps (2-5) for implementing your solution, including a timeline for each step:
1. Approval of the Religious Studies course/Curriculum (4-6 months)

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 2. Training provided to the teachers that will teach the course/curriculum. (4

weeks)

3. Quarterly evaluations of the course/curriculum. This will allow a check and

balance system to ensure that we are within the guidelines and following the

laws/polices and procedures that are in place.

9. Potential moral and legal consequences of the solution:

 Moral consequences: The studying of religion is always controversial due to the

thin line between studying and preaching the doctrine. There the moral

consequence would be students/parents that may question if there is a clear

separation between church and state.

 Legal consequences: The schools/district may come under attack. Possible

lawsuits maybe filed to see if the schools are in violation of the law. That is why it

is important that the curriculum is clear, and the teachers are properly trained to

teach the material in a neutral manner.

Part 2: Rationale

The solution you chose and how that solution:

Supports the school’s vision and mission and safeguards the values of democracy,
equity, and diversity.

Laurel Palm Middle School has the reputation of being a school that is on the cutting

edge. Allowing the faculty and staff the freedom to be innovative and breath new ideas and

programs within their school and the district. There is a clear vision that Ms. Avery the

school principal has implemented at Laurel Palm Middle School. In this case study the

problem of implementing a new religious studies program and utilizing the Bible as one of

the textbooks has been a controversial topic for a long time. The solution that I have chose

supports this vision of being innovative by not letting a controversial situation prevent the

learning process. My solution is to move forward with the program and sending it to the
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 district for approval. However, due to the issues that have been bought up by the neighbor it

is important that all stakeholders are provided with the necessary assurance that this program

is not in violation of any state or federal laws.

The townhall meetings I believe will allow room for transparency, to show that the

purpose of this course is to educate and not to indoctrinate. The training that the teachers

received will be discussed during the meetings and the exact outline of the curriculum that

will be taught to the students. The values of democracy are supported by providing the

community a voice to express their opinions and suggestions. Also showing that we honor

the rights of our students and believe that their constitutional rights should always be

protected. To support the equity and diversity of our students the curriculum should also

include different religious documents as well, Christianity is not the only religion that will be

included in the course therefore it is important to include a combination of historical

documents. There will also be a re-evaluation of the course program that is ongoing to ensure

that we comply with the laws, policies, and guidelines.

Promotes social justice and ensures that individual student needs inform all aspects of
schooling.

Social justice in schools is “distributing resources fairly and treating all students

equitably so that they feel safe and secure—physically and psychologically” (Álvarez, 2019).

The solution to this case study allows all students to have access to the provided course and

the materials that will be used to teach the course. This innovative new course will allow a

clear path and solid structure for all students. This will ensure that individual student needs

are addressed and despite their abilities they will have access.

If the Bible is taught in a secular manner, focusing on the historical, literary, ethical, or

philosophical aspects the school will be able to continue to do so. This course will not be part

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 of their core curriculum, providing them with the option to take it or not. Throughout the

middle school years students should be provided with the opportunities to be challenged

academically in new and exciting ways. This new course program allows that possibility to

happen.

Promotes collaboration, trust, learning, and high expectations.

The open discussions that I would envision happening during townhall meetings to

discuss this new course and curriculum, promotes collaboration, trust, learning, and high

expectations. Allowing the voices of the community that would be affected in the decision-

making process to be heard will build trust. The type of collaboration will encourage a team

mindset, that we are there to reach a common goal, which is to provide the students access to as

much knowledge as possible. The community involvement would hopefully demonstrate the

high expectations that we have in place for our students.

During the process of collaboration and trying to get the course approved I believe that

the concerned individuals will be able to also learn about what the law allows when it comes to

teaching about religion and using religion documents within the public-school sector. Once the

program has been approved a continues review will ensure that we are keeping in accordance

with the laws and regulations.

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 References

Álvarez, B. (n.d.). Why Social Justice in school matters. NEA. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from

https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/why-social-justice-school-

matters

Essex, N. L. (2016). School Law and the Public Schools: A practical Guide for Educational

Leaders. 6th ed. (pp 40-41). N.p.: Pearson Education, Inc. 

Hanson, K. L. (2009). A casebook for school leaders: linking the ISLLC standards to effective

practice. 3rd ed. (pp. 8-10) Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

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