Webster v. New Lenox School District

Webster v. New Lenox School District, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990)[1] was a court case in Illinois, in which a social studies teacher Ray Webster sued the New Lenox School District 122 in New Lenox, Illinois, which he accused of violating his First Amendment right to free speech for stopping him from teaching "creation science" in class.[2][3] The court found however that the school district had a right to restrict Webster to teaching the specified curriculum, and that in any case the teaching of "creation science" was illegal, having been ruled to violate the establishment clause in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987).[4]

Webster v. New Lenox School District
CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Full case nameRay Webster v. New Lenox School District No. 122, et al
ArguedFebruary 27 1990
DecidedNovember 6 1990
Citation(s)917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990)
63 Ed. Law Rep. 749
Case history
Prior action(s)88-C-2328 (N.D. Ill.)
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingJoel Martin Flaum, Frank H. Easterbrook, Kenneth Francis Ripple
Case opinions
MajorityRipple, joined by a unanimous court
Laws applied
First Amendment

The case hinged on the school district's "pedagogical interest in establishing the curriculum and legitimate concern with possible establishment clause violations".

Webster appealed and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court's original decision deciding "teaching creation science for any reason was a form of religious advocacy."[4]

References

  1. Webster v. New Lenox School District, 917 F.2d 1004 (7th Cir. 1990).
  2. Scott, Eugenie C. (March 19, 2001). "How to Testify at School Board Meetings". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  3. Molleen Matsumura; Louise Mead (July 31, 2007). "10 Major Court Cases about Evolution and Creationism". National Center for Science Education. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  4. Than, Ker (September 27, 2005). "Anti-evolution Attacks on the Rise". Live Science. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
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