Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Stupid School

A parent reading from the bible is not (necessarily) proselytizing. There is a difference and the school should recognize it:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania school district violated the free-speech rights of a parent who was prevented from reading the Bible to her son's kindergarten class, an attorney for the woman said on Monday.

The parent, Donna Busch, has filed a lawsuit against the Marple Newtown School District near Philadelphia, claiming her constitutional rights were breached when a school principal stopped her reading from the Bible in a class last October.

Busch, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, attended her son Wesley's class as part of "Me Week," which gave parents an opportunity to read aloud from their child's favorite book.

Busch planned to read Psalm No. 118 but was told by the principal the reading would violate the separation of church and state, according to the suit filed earlier this month.


Sure, this is bull as the bible is unlikely her "child's favorite book," but I'm pretty absolutist on this stuff and I don't think this crosses any constitutional line. It could, perhaps, if most of the parents in class banded together and decided to turn "Me Week" into "read from the Bible" week, but one parent reading from Psalm 118 really shouldn't raise any red flagss (though, admittedly, the choice of Psalm 118 does pretty much confirm that this parent was trying to cause a showdown).