Lawsuit accuses California school district of teaching Islam
By The Associated Press
07.08.02
BYRON, Calif. — Two families have filed suit against the Byron Union School District, saying students were taught the Islamic religion in violation of the Constitution.
The suit was filed in federal court in San Francisco June 24 by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Thomas More Center for Law and Justice.
The suit alleges that students in a seventh-grade class at Excelsior School were required to participate in simulation exercises including wearing traditional Muslim clothing and memorizing Islamic prayers.
Richard Thompson, executive director and chief counsel for the center, said the district's teaching methods were unacceptable.
"Is this education or indoctrination? You can teach about religion, but you can't cross the line and promote one religion over another," he said. "The textbook and simulation workbook used in Byron and many schools in California crossed way over the constitutional line in regard to religion."
Byron Superintendent Peggy Green said the district is adhering to state guidelines and said the district did not plan to stop using the Houghton-Mifflin-published textbook Across the Centuries because she said it's the only state-approved history book for seventh-graders.
The suit asks the court to find that the district violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment and to prohibit the district from funding and implementing simulations of Islam. The suit also seeks monetary damages and legal fees.