| Gay rights and freedom of speech: Daniel Shinoff is struggling to figure out student rights Right-wingers and left-wingers have been united in defense of Tyler Chase. I must confess that I have struggled with the problem of how much free speech to allow students who want to condemn other students. At first I agreed with Daniel Shinoff that T-shirts condemning gay students should not be allowed. But then I realized that freedom of speech exists for a good reason. If young Mr. Tyler Chase Harper wants to discuss his sincerely-held religious beliefs about other people's sexual orientation, why not let him? Of course, he has to be respectful to his fellow students. And they, too, have a right to discuss the subject. Schools should not hide from important social issues and facts of life. But ubiquitous school attorney Daniel Shinoff seems to have an even bigger problem with this whole issue. His problem is that he wants schools to have power to restrict speech WITHOUT having the responsibility to keep students safe. Shinoff and the Poway Unifed School Board have contradicted themselves about their obligations to physically protect students and to protect their right to free speech at the same time. In the Megan Donovan and Joseph Ramelli case, which involved brutal harassment of two students, the district and its lawyers claimed that the school could not be expected to protect gay students from physical abuse. But in the Harper case, the same lawyers and school district argued that they had a right to restrict freedom of speech because it could conceivably lead to harassment of gay students. Grossmont Union High School District Daniel Shinoff has recently been working with the ACLU to sort out a similar problem at Grossmont Union High School District. Letter to Daniel Shinoff |
| Defamation Suit |
| Severe abuse by teachers |
| Fred Kamper case |
| Vista Unified |
| Teacher rights: posting religious/ banners in classroom Johnson v. PUSD Amended Complaint Calif. teacher can pursue free- speech claim against district First Amendment Center Online by The Associated Press, 09.11.08 SAN DIEGO — A federal judge will allow a Christian math teacher to proceed with his free-speech lawsuit against his Southern California school district. Westview High School teacher Bradley Johnson filed his federal lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District last year after he was told to remove classroom banners that include the words "God" and "Creator.” School officials told Bradley the banners promoted a "Judeo-Christian" viewpoint. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez’s 23-page ruling in Johnson v. Poway United School District means that Johnson may proceed with his lawsuit against the school district. “By squelching Johnson’s Judeo- Christian religious viewpoint while promoting or permitting Buddhist, Islamic, and Tibetan religious viewpoints, Defendants’ acts clearly unjustifiably abridge Johnson’s constitutional free speech rights, ” Benitez wrote in the Sept. 4 ruling. The seven-foot banners include "In God We Trust" and "All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator." Benitez refused the district’s request to dismiss the case, saying the banners provide "healthy exposure" to diverse ideas. “By squelching only Johnson’s patriotic expression, the school district does a disservice to the students of Westview High School and the federal and state constitutions do not permit such one-sided censorship,” the judge wrote. |
| Los Angeles Times By Tony Perry September 11, 2008 SAN DIEGO -- A high school mathematics teacher has won a round in federal court in his fight to put "God Bless America" and "One Nation Under God" banners back in his classroom. Brad Johnson, a teacher at Westview High in San Diego County, had the banners up in his classroom for two decades, but last year the principal ordered him to take them down, saying they were an impermissible attempt to make a Judeo-Christian statement to his students. Johnson sued in federal court. Poway Unified School District officials sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that, as a public employee, Johnson had only limited 1st Amendment rights while on the job and that the principal had authority over what was put on classroom walls. In a blistering 23-page decision, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez rejected the district's motion as legally faulty and blasted its "brash" attempt to take down the banners. The jurist noted that the district allowed other teachers to put up posters with Buddhist and Islamic messages, posters of rock bands including Nirvana and the Clash, and Tibetan prayer rugs. Johnson's banners, Benitez wrote, were patriotic expressions deeply rooted in American history. "By squelching only Johnson's patriotic expression, the school district does a disservice to the students of Westview High School, and the federal and state constitutions do not permit such one-sided censorship," Benitez wrote in a ruling issued last week. The school district's attorney, Jack M. Sleeth Jr., said Wednesday that the school board would meet in closed session next week to discuss whether to appeal the ruling, settle the case or advance to trial. He said the principal made her decision after receiving a complaint about the banners. "It's an extremely complex issue," Sleeth said. "It's not as simple as the teacher loves the Lord and we tried to stop him. He was hired to teach mathematics. What do these banners have to do with mathematics?" Sleeth said the district offered to let the banners remain if Johnson would provide material showing the historical context of the messages on them. But he refused, Sleeth said. Johnson is seeking to restore the banners, which include "In God We Trust" and "God Shed His Grace on Thee," and to be compensated for $30,000 in legal fees. The lawsuit was filed by the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center, which supports cases involving religious issues nationwide. The center is also representing a Marine lieutenant colonel facing court-martial at Camp Pendleton for allegedly not investigating a possible war crime by troops in Haditha, Iraq. Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for the law center, suggested that the Poway district should settle rather than advance to trial. "Many public schools exhibit a knee-jerk hostility toward Christianity," he said. In his ruling, Benitez noted that Johnson had never referred to the banners while teaching. |