Portfolio #6- Freedom of Religion 1

Portfolio #6

Freedom of Religion

Doriane Zorio-Ricardo

December 2, 2017
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Karen White is a kindergarten teacher who recently decided to become Jehovah’s

Witness. She informed her students’ parents that she could no longer participate in certain

activities such as decorating the classroom for holidays, singing “Happy Birthday,” etc. due to

her religious beliefs. The parents protested and Principal Bill Ward decided that Karen White

should be dismissed due to ineffectively meeting her students’ needs.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) will be the first case in favor of Karen White being wrongly

dismissed due to her religious beliefs and the violation of her First amendment rights of the Free

Exercise Clause. In the case, Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972,) the Supreme Court ruled that forcing

Amish children to attend school past the eighth grade with the compulsory attendance law was

violating their free exercise of religious rights. The state was found to have no compelling

interest in requiring the Amish children to attend school past their basic educational needs. Just

as in Karen White’s case, the Principal is violating Karen White’s free exercise of religious

rights by expecting her to participate in activities that her religion does not believe in

(Underwood & Webb, 2006).

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) will be the second case in

favor of Karen White being wrongly dismissed due to her religious beliefs and the violation of

her First Amendment rights if the Free Exercise Clause. In the case West Virginia State Board of

Education v. Barnette (1943), a law was passed in West Virginia requiring students to say the

Pledge of Allegiance and requiring students to salute the flag. Jehovah’s Witness students were

being expelled from school and their parents were even being fined for not participating in these

practices. The parents of the students decided to file suit against the school district for infringing

on their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students because their

Constitutional rights had been violated. The first Constitutional right that was violated was the
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First Amendment of freedom of religion and the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement of due

process. Just as in Karen White’s case, the Principal requiring her to participate in activities such

as the Pledge of Allegiance is a violation of her First Amendment rights of freedom of religion

(Reuters, 2017).

Clever v. Cherry Hill Township (1993) is the first case to prove that Principal Ward had the

grounds to dismiss Karen White due to ineffectively meeting the needs of her students. In the case

Clever v. Cherry Hill Township (1993) the Cherry Hill Board of Education allowed the use of

cultural, ethnic, and religious themes in their school programs. Religious symbols were also used

in holiday displays around the school and classroom activities. Taxpayers and parents took the

Cherry Hill Board of Education to court for their practices. The court found in favor of the

school district, because religion is acceptable to teach in public schools as long it is taught

constitutionally. Just as in Principal Ward’s case against Karen White, using religious symbols

and decorating the classroom is part of meeting the needs of the students and she is violating

their constitutional right to learn about religious symbols by not having holiday displays in the

classroom (PBWorks, 2006).

The second case that proves that Principal Ward has grounds to dismiss Karen White due

to ineffectively meeting her students’ needs is Skoros v. City of New York (2006). In the case

Skoros v. City of New York (2006) Andrea Skoros on behalf of her two minor children brought

the City of New York to court because of its holiday policy which allowed religious symbols to

be displayed such as the menorah from the Jewish holiday of Chanukah and the star and crescent

from the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. Skoros believed that the policy violated her children’s

rights under the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment. The

City of New York challenged that the religious symbols were to “promote the fostering
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understanding and respect for the rights of all individuals regarding their beliefs, values, and

customs” (Reuters, 2017). The judgement ended in favor of the city because the displays were

used for the purpose of educating students about other cultures. Just as in the case of Karen

White, she should be using religious symbols for the purpose of teaching diversity in her

classroom and refusing to do so is causing her to not meeting the needs of her students.

Therefore, Principal Ward has grounds to dismiss her (Reuters, 2017).

My decision in this case is in favor of Karen White and she does have the grounds to

pursue charges against Principal White under the cases Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) and West

Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943). Under the case Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972),

Principal Ward is violating Karen White’s First Amendment right of the free exercise of

religious rights clause. Under the case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette

(1943), Principal Ward is violating Karen White’s First Amendment right of freedom of religion.

Therefore, Principal Ward should be charged with the violation of Karen White’s First

Amendment rights for dismissing her due to her religious beliefs.

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Bibliography

PBWorks. (2006). Law Briefs. Retrieved November 22, 2017, from

http://alphagroup.pbworks.com/w/page/12319520/Law%20Briefs

Reuters, T. (2017). FindLaw's United States Second Circuit case and opinions. Retrieved

December 02, 2017, from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1351830.html

Reuters, T. (2017). The Pledge of Allegiance and Legal Challenges in Education. Retrieved

November 22, 2017, from http://education.findlaw.com/student-rights/the-pledge-of-

allegiance-and-legal-challenges-in-education.html

Underwood, J., & Webb, L. D. (2006). School Law for Teachers: Concepts and Applications.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.