3rd Circuit: School District’s exclusion of religious holiday music is “reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns”
Stratechuck v. Bd. of Educ., S. Orange-Maplewood Sch. Dist., No. 08-3826 (3rd Cir. Nov. 24, 2009)
Excerpt from the beginning of the opinion:
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The issue before us is whether a School District, in order to maintain a policy of complete religious neutrality, may
prohibit celebratory religious music at school-sponsored events. The District Court, in a careful analysis of the facts on record and the applicable law, upheld the School District’s discretion to maintain and enforce its policy. Stratechuk v. Bd. of Educ., S. Orange-Maplewood Sch. Dist., 577 F. Supp. 2d 731 (D.N.J. 2008).
The unsuccessful plaintiff, Michael Stratechuk, the father of two students in the School District of South Orange-
Maplewood, New Jersey (“School District”), appeals the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the School District (and related defendants) on Stratechuk’s claims filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that the School District’s policy on the performance of religious holiday music violates the Establishment Clause and his children’s First Amendment “right to receive information and ideas, right to learn, and right to academic freedom.” Id. at 749.
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Thomas More Law Center: A Christmas Insult to Christians —Third Circuit Approves School’s Ban on “Silent Night”
“The Third Circuit opinion admitted the changing court view of Christmas: ‘Certainly, those of us who were educated in public schools remember holiday celebrations replete with Christmas carols and possibly Chanukah songs, to which no objections had been raised. Since then, the governing principles have been examined and defined with more particularity.’”
2 Comments
I’m not sure that I completely understand what this ruling means.
It means that while Schools can have religous music in their Holiday pograms” they do not have to.
Most school administrators are not anti religion they are anti- getting sued and anti- controversey. They will see this as a way to avoid problems. If we do not do religous songs we can not be sued (even though they can not be sued for having them either). Since the the wheel with the loudest squeak gets the grease The parents who object to this new policy need to make way more noise then the intolerant person who objected to a medley of religous Christmas songs.
I would also suggest they run a slate of candidates for the School Board. That will put the fear of God (pun intended) into the administrators and the current Board.