LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A California school district prohibited a teacher from providing handouts about American history to his students because the historical documents contain references to God and religion, and now the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed suit.
“Throwing aside all common sense, the district has chosen to censor men such as George Washington and documents like the Declaration of Independence,” Gary McCaleb, ADF’s senior counsel, said. “The district’s actions conflict with American beliefs and are completely unconstitutional. In addition, they have wrongfully applied their policy to only one teacher, who is a professed Christian.”
The school principal ordered the teacher, Stephen Williams, to submit all lesson plans and supplemental handouts for her review but did not require the same of other teachers. Documents that were rejected include excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, the diaries of George Washington and John Adams, the writings of William Penn and various state constitutions, ADF said.
“Less than 5 percent of all of Mr. Williams’ supplemental handouts distributed throughout the school year contain references to God and Christianity,” McCaleb said. “The district is attempting to cleanse all references to the Christian religion from our nation’s history.”
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