"Not long after a student from Loomis Basin Charter School (LBCS) invited her two friends to a
Creation seminar held off campus, school officials became livid, summonsing her to the principal's office four times in the same day in order to force her into writing a "confession" of what she had done.
Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is now representing the student against Loomis Union School District (LUSD), located in Loomis, California, approximately 30 miles northeast of Sacramento. The legal non-profit organization alleges in the complaint that the school district violated the student's constitutional rights by prohibiting her from expressing her beliefs.
After ordering the student — who PJI dubbed "Esther" for anonymity's sake — to confess, school officials in the principal's office vowed that they would censor any future invitations that she planned to give to friends.
In September, Esther had invited a couple of her friends to a free, off-campus, non-school seminar in response to the teaching of Darwinian evolution in her class, which has its curriculum based in the school-issued textbook Early Civilizations.
"Currently, the class is discussing plate tectonics and the Big Bang theory," PJI's complaint on behalf of Esther reads. "[Esther] sought out more information to be able to express her beliefs and understanding on the issue to participate in the ongoing conversation."
Because evolutionary theory was routinely taught as fact in her class, and as many students in her class began comparing the creationist account of Genesis with Darwin's biological evolutionary theory, Esther wanted her peers to join her in getting a more comprehensive understanding of human origins — as well as the origins of the earth and the known universe — by attending a Creationist seminar.
During the semester, Esther learned about the three-session Creationist seminar and became intrigued about the issue. She then invited one of her friends from science class — who also expressed a keen interest in the debate — to the second session. The two then invited a third friend to session three.
Esther's complaint claims that LBCS director Erica Sloane, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, lashed out in anger at Esther when confronting her about the invitation. Sloan allegedly ordered her to submit a written confession and warned her that similar invitations in the future must be accompanied with an official stamp of approval from school officials.
According to the lawsuit, the second of four summons Esther received to go to the principal's office within 24 hours resulted in the student being compelled to fill out an incident report documenting her confession of what she had done on school grounds. Within 15 minutes, Sloane declared the confession "inadequate," spurring Esther's third summons of the day. After this attempt did not meet Sloane's approval, Esther was summoned to the principal's office for the fourth and final time that day.
Inconsistent with the treatment Esther experienced in the principal's office that day, LBCS has a mission statement that encourages students to "think independently and connect content to real life" while pursuing the quest for knowledge.
"[Esther] has been disturbed by these events and felt harassed, traumatized and unsafe to the point that she did not want to return to school in the days that followed because of the scolding and harsh interactions," the lawsuit declares.
After Esther communicated her four office visits to her mother, the concerned parent sought an explanation from school officials, who told her that Esther was prohibited from disseminating any kind of flyer to any students on campus at any time — inside or outside of class, before or after school." OneNewsNow
Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) is now representing the student against Loomis Union School District (LUSD), located in Loomis, California, approximately 30 miles northeast of Sacramento. The legal non-profit organization alleges in the complaint that the school district violated the student's constitutional rights by prohibiting her from expressing her beliefs.
After ordering the student — who PJI dubbed "Esther" for anonymity's sake — to confess, school officials in the principal's office vowed that they would censor any future invitations that she planned to give to friends.
In September, Esther had invited a couple of her friends to a free, off-campus, non-school seminar in response to the teaching of Darwinian evolution in her class, which has its curriculum based in the school-issued textbook Early Civilizations.
"Currently, the class is discussing plate tectonics and the Big Bang theory," PJI's complaint on behalf of Esther reads. "[Esther] sought out more information to be able to express her beliefs and understanding on the issue to participate in the ongoing conversation."
Because evolutionary theory was routinely taught as fact in her class, and as many students in her class began comparing the creationist account of Genesis with Darwin's biological evolutionary theory, Esther wanted her peers to join her in getting a more comprehensive understanding of human origins — as well as the origins of the earth and the known universe — by attending a Creationist seminar.
During the semester, Esther learned about the three-session Creationist seminar and became intrigued about the issue. She then invited one of her friends from science class — who also expressed a keen interest in the debate — to the second session. The two then invited a third friend to session three.
Esther's complaint claims that LBCS director Erica Sloane, one of the defendants in the lawsuit, lashed out in anger at Esther when confronting her about the invitation. Sloan allegedly ordered her to submit a written confession and warned her that similar invitations in the future must be accompanied with an official stamp of approval from school officials.
According to the lawsuit, the second of four summons Esther received to go to the principal's office within 24 hours resulted in the student being compelled to fill out an incident report documenting her confession of what she had done on school grounds. Within 15 minutes, Sloane declared the confession "inadequate," spurring Esther's third summons of the day. After this attempt did not meet Sloane's approval, Esther was summoned to the principal's office for the fourth and final time that day.
Inconsistent with the treatment Esther experienced in the principal's office that day, LBCS has a mission statement that encourages students to "think independently and connect content to real life" while pursuing the quest for knowledge.
"[Esther] has been disturbed by these events and felt harassed, traumatized and unsafe to the point that she did not want to return to school in the days that followed because of the scolding and harsh interactions," the lawsuit declares.
After Esther communicated her four office visits to her mother, the concerned parent sought an explanation from school officials, who told her that Esther was prohibited from disseminating any kind of flyer to any students on campus at any time — inside or outside of class, before or after school." OneNewsNow
Why do ye persecute me as God,
and are not satisfied with my flesh?
Job 19:22