Federal judge rules Joplin public schools must end 'religious' field trips
Claudette Riley , CRILEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Published 11:25 a.m. CT March 10, 2017
Updated 3:38 p.m. CT March 10, 2017
http://www.news-leader.com/story/new...rips/99007024/
http://christian-identity.net/forum/...6102#post16102
http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...6102#post16102
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a secular group that sought to block the Joplin school district from sending children on field trips to a Christian sports complex.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool ruled Thursday the relationship between the Joplin district and Victory Ministries and Sports Complex — and, in particular, the seventh- and eighth-grade field trips and sex education programming — constituted an "impermissible entanglement of government, government funding and government authority with a particular religion and religious message in violation of the Establishment Clause."
The suit filed by the legal center of the American Humanist Association — on behalf of a "non-Christian" Joplin mother and her two school-age children — alleged the district violated the family's constitutional rights by creating an "excessive entanglement between government and religion."
In the suit, the association alleged the venue was covered in religious imagery, including crosses, and the permission slip for the field trip noted children may be invited to Bible studies and local churches while at the sports complex.
“This is a victory for the Constitution,” said David Niose, legal director of the association, in a news release. “The school district has been funneling money and impressionable students to a religious ministry that is in the business of luring children to Christianity, and we’re glad that the court could see that this is clearly unconstitutional activity.”
The district has been fairly tight-lipped about the allegations but released a short, written statement after the suit was filed. The district did not deny using the facility.
"The field trip is secular in nature and the location was chosen by the students as a celebration," the district said. "No religious exercises or proselytizing took place on the field trip nor has the lawsuit alleged any such activity took place."
The association alleged that the district not only sent students to the complex for field trips but also "so-called abstinence-only sex education."
The suit names the district, former superintendent C.J. Huff and North Middle School principal Brandon Eggleston. The interim superintendent, Norm Ridder, issued a statement Friday regarding the ruling.
"Very late on Thursday, we learned of the federal judge's ruling for the case, Jane Doe vs. Joplin Schools," Ridder wrote. "...At this time we are reviewing the judge's decision with legal counsel."
As part of the ruling, the judge issued a "permanent injunction" to stop the district from "intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently allowing field trips to Victory or similar religious venues." The association was also awarded "nominal damages" plus attorney fees.
“The American Humanist Association warned the Joplin School District nearly two years ago of their violation of the Establishment Clause,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the association, in the release. “The school district ignored the Constitution, and we are happy that the Court delivered the correct ruling.”
.
Claudette Riley , CRILEY@NEWS-LEADER.COM
Published 11:25 a.m. CT March 10, 2017
Updated 3:38 p.m. CT March 10, 2017
http://www.news-leader.com/story/new...rips/99007024/
http://christian-identity.net/forum/...6102#post16102
http://whitenationalist.org/forum/sh...6102#post16102
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a secular group that sought to block the Joplin school district from sending children on field trips to a Christian sports complex.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool ruled Thursday the relationship between the Joplin district and Victory Ministries and Sports Complex — and, in particular, the seventh- and eighth-grade field trips and sex education programming — constituted an "impermissible entanglement of government, government funding and government authority with a particular religion and religious message in violation of the Establishment Clause."
The suit filed by the legal center of the American Humanist Association — on behalf of a "non-Christian" Joplin mother and her two school-age children — alleged the district violated the family's constitutional rights by creating an "excessive entanglement between government and religion."
In the suit, the association alleged the venue was covered in religious imagery, including crosses, and the permission slip for the field trip noted children may be invited to Bible studies and local churches while at the sports complex.
“This is a victory for the Constitution,” said David Niose, legal director of the association, in a news release. “The school district has been funneling money and impressionable students to a religious ministry that is in the business of luring children to Christianity, and we’re glad that the court could see that this is clearly unconstitutional activity.”
The district has been fairly tight-lipped about the allegations but released a short, written statement after the suit was filed. The district did not deny using the facility.
"The field trip is secular in nature and the location was chosen by the students as a celebration," the district said. "No religious exercises or proselytizing took place on the field trip nor has the lawsuit alleged any such activity took place."
The association alleged that the district not only sent students to the complex for field trips but also "so-called abstinence-only sex education."
The suit names the district, former superintendent C.J. Huff and North Middle School principal Brandon Eggleston. The interim superintendent, Norm Ridder, issued a statement Friday regarding the ruling.
"Very late on Thursday, we learned of the federal judge's ruling for the case, Jane Doe vs. Joplin Schools," Ridder wrote. "...At this time we are reviewing the judge's decision with legal counsel."
As part of the ruling, the judge issued a "permanent injunction" to stop the district from "intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently allowing field trips to Victory or similar religious venues." The association was also awarded "nominal damages" plus attorney fees.
“The American Humanist Association warned the Joplin School District nearly two years ago of their violation of the Establishment Clause,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the association, in the release. “The school district ignored the Constitution, and we are happy that the Court delivered the correct ruling.”
.
Comment