| August 13, 2005 Teacher cites bias, sues York schools Tabb High teacher William Lee is suing the school district after officials removed parts of a collage containing Christian icons from his classroom. BY BEVERLY N. WILLIAMS YORK -- A Spanish teacher at Tabb High School has sued the York County School Division, saying school officials violated his right to free speech by tearing down posters and other items with religious themes from his classroom wall. William Lee, who has taught at Tabb since 2002, alleges the items were removed in October while he was out sick for a few days. One poster removed featured a story and newsletter article about a former Poquoson woman killed in Peru during a mission trip in 2001. A small crucifix was visible on the newsletter. Other items included a poster publicizing the National Day of Prayer and a newspaper article about President Bush's religious faith and a picture of him praying. There also were articles and pictures focusing on things like the Peruvian Inca sun god festival, the religious motives of pre-Inca civilizations and the Incans' beliefs about the afterlife. Only items relating to Christian religious _expression were taken down. Things that didn't involve Christianity or weren't related to another religious belief or secular viewpoint were left alone, according to the lawsuit. "Most of these posters had been on the wall for three years, and I never had anybody say anything against them," Lee said Friday. Lee also is the sponsor for Tabb's Christian extracurricular club, First Priority Christian Group. The Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville-based civil liberties group, filed the federal lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Newport News. Lee is not seeking monetary damages but wants a court to allow him to put the posters back on the walls. The lawsuit claims Tabb High School allows teachers to put things on their walls if they're in line with the school's educational objectives or relate to school clubs the teachers sponsor. "This a free speech, equal protection issue," said John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute. "Teachers have a right to teach, and students have a right to learn. So why is he being treated differently? "Other teachers did it," Whitehead said. "So this raised a question of academic freedom." School officials declined to comment on the case, instead referring all questions to James Barnett, the county attorney. Barnett, who has 60 days to file a formal response, said Friday that he hasn't discussed the case yet with school Superintendent Steven Staples or other officials. But he said administrators thought the posters were contrary to what was being taught in the classroom - Spanish. In a letter to the Rutherford Institute in late January, Barnett wrote school officials thought "the posters and articles gave the mistaken impression of a governmental endorsement of a particular religious point of view, (and indeed, was the subject of a complaint from a parent to that effect ..." He also wrote that Lee's "intention was specifically to advance a religious point of view." Lee denies that. He said the material on his walls was used to educate students about the Spanish language, culture and religious traditions in Hispanic countries. The posters also illustrated the activities of the Christian club. Speaking by phone Friday from his lawyer's office in Chesapeake, Lee said he thinks the collage detailing Veronica Bowers death in Peru was targeted in particular because of the crucifix. Bowers, an American missionary, was killed along with her 7-month-old daughter when the Peruvian military mistook their missionary plane for a drug smuggling flight. Lee said the crucifix was on a newsletter published by the Peninsula Rescue Mission, and it was that half of the collage that was removed when Crispin Zanca, the school's principal, was ordered to take down things that were considered offensive. "When I went to talk to the principal, I was told that a parent advocate acting on a student's behalf told the principal that the posters were offensive," Lee said. "I was never told who the student was nor was I allowed to speak to their parents," he said. "I don't even know if the student was one of my own because two other teachers use my classroom, but it was clear that bias was afoot." Steve Taylor, Lee's lawyer, said it was wrong to single out Lee's posters when the same was not being done to other teachers. The lawsuit was filed, he said, after efforts to resolve the issues within the school district failed. "The First Amendment is the core to the Constitution," Taylor said. "And when they choose to remove things without standards or guidelines, they violate an individual's constitutional rights." http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-66783sy0aug13,0,2456549.story?coll=dp-headlines- topnews |