Appeals court upholds off-campus religious classes

[rug]

Updated: 7/3/2012 10:30 AM
By SEANNA ADCOX – Associated Press

COLUMBIA -- A federal appeals court has upheld a South Carolina program that allows high school students to earn elective credit toward graduation through off-campus religious courses, a ruling supporters touted Monday as a victory for religious education.

Supporters said the decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will likely prompt more districts to offer the option to students. Oran Smith of the faith-based Palmetto Family Council said it may end some school officials' fear of a court fight.

The lawsuit challenged a Spartanburg District 7 policy, adopted in 2007, allowing students to earn up to two credits for off-campus religious courses offered by private educators. The policy was in line with the state's 2006 "released time credit act" that legislators hoped would be used statewide as a template.

The appeals court last Thursday upheld a lower court's April 2011 decision. It said the district properly accommodated religion without establishing it, acting within the First Amendment.

http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/070312-ap-Appeals-court-upholds-off-campus-religious-classes--4108659

Here's the opinion.

http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/111448.P.pdf

[cbayer]

1. My question here is who is offering the classes and if there are any restrictions on who can attend.

Schools offer credits for lots of things, including participation in activities that might be associated with a religion (or non-religious) groups.

As long as the opportunity is available to everyone, I'm not sure what the problem what be.

(I can't open the link because my connection is so slow, it is practically useless).

[rug]

2. Here's an excerpt.

This case concerns a South Carolina statute (2006 S.C. Acts 322) that allows school districts to grant credit to students who attend religious released time classes. The difference in this law from the old law is the new law allows credit to be given. The old law allowed released time for religious classes but offered no credit. South Carolina is the only state that has this type of law allowing credit for released time religious classes.

From the opinion:

In 2007, South Carolina’s Spartanburg County School District
Seven adopted a policy allowing public school students to receive
two academic credits for off-campus religious instruction offered
by private educators. The parents of two students at Spartanburg
High School commenced this action against the School District, alleging
that the policy impermissibly endorses religion and entangles church
and State, inviolation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

- snip -

Early in 2007, a private, unaccredited religious education
organization, Spartanburg County Bible Education in School
Time ("Spartanburg Bible School&quot , approached a number of
South Carolina school districts, including Spartanburg County
School District Seven, requesting that they allow students to
participate in a released time religious course—a two semester
Christian worldview class—for academic credit. In
discussions with School District Seven, the school officials
conveyed their preference that administrators receive grades
under the released time program as transfer credits from
accredited private schools, rather than from unaccredited education
providers, such as Spartanburg Bible School. This
arrangement would be consistent with the School District’s
practice of receiving grades awarded by a private school,
including grades for religious courses, when a private school
student transfers into public school. The officials explained
that by receiving released time grades through a private
school "transfer transcript," the School District could obviate
the need for school officials to become involved in assessing
the "quality" of religious released-time courses.

Following the School District’s preference, Spartanburg
Bible School entered into an arrangement with Oakbrook Preparatory
School, an accredited private Christian school, by
which Spartanburg Bible School could submit its grades
through Oakbrook to Spartanburg High School. Under the
arrangement, Oakbrook agreed to review and monitor Spartanburg
Bible School’s curriculum, its teacher qualifications,
and educational objectives, and to award course credit and
grades given by the Bible School before transferring them to
Spartanburg High School. In carrying out the arrangement,
Oakbrook reviewed syllabi, spoke with instructors, suggested
minor curricular adjustments, and satisfied itself that the Spartanburg
Bible School course was academically rigorous.

After Spartanburg Bible School began its instruction under
the arrangement with Oakbrook and Spartanburg High
School, Spartanburg High School never actively or directly
engaged in promoting the Spartanburg Bible School course or
any other released time course. The Spartanburg Bible School
course was not listed in the Spartanburg High School course
catalog, and the Bible School was not permitted to advertise
itself in Spartanburg High School classrooms. While the Bible
School did provide Spartanburg High School guidance counselors
with flyers, the counselors were authorized to discuss
Spartanburg Bible School or the flyers with parents and students
only after they expressed an interest in learning about
the program. Spartanburg High School did, however, allow
Spartanburg Bible School to staff an informational table at its
annual registration open house for parents and students, as it
did for other outside organizations, such as military and college
recruiters.

[cbayer]

3. Looks ok to me. Thanks for the c & p.

I think the argument that it is treated like a transfer credit makes sense.

[MineralMan]

4. Religious Release time has been around for a long time.

They had it when I was in grammar school in the 1950s. I didn't participate, and I was one of very few. Those who didn't participate stayed in their classes while the other kids went off to their church for religious instruction. I have no idea whether any credit was given for that, but I don't think so.

What was interesting is what happened back at school while all those students were at their churches. Education happened. In fifth grade, for example, my teacher began introducing algebra to the few students who remained in class. In sixth grade, the left-behind kids (pun intended) in my classroom learned Spanish. The teachers were working with small groups, about five students in my classes, and we learned.

[rug]

5. No, they didn't give credit. That's wha this dispute is about.

And while kids did not learn algebra in religious classes, they learned.

There's always time for algebra and Spanish.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes, and for me, that time was during

the religious release hour once a week. Great stuff. The Bible study kids learned one thing, and I was learning another. Good bargain. It gave me a leg up on both subjects, which were not subjects taught in elementary school at the time.

No academic credit should be given for such release time. The reward for those kids is learning whatever it is that's being taught there. I got that stuff in Sunday school.

Algebra and Spanish are concrete academic subjects. Bible study is not. It's religious training, which is not something the public schools should have anything to do with. Release is fine, I suppose, but getting academic credit for it, I believe, is not.

[rug]

7. Whether there is credit or not, it is still learning.

I'm leery of anyone declaring what is and is not a "concrete academic subject".

[eqfan592]

9. Yes, but public school is about specific types of learning.

While learning about the bible and Christians in an academic sense is appropriate for a public school, learning about how Christianity and the Bible is the proper path to salvation is not. Thus one is deserving of academic credit at a public school, and one is not.

[rug]

10. That's fine. They're both learning experiences.

Learning s not confined to a curriculum.

[eqfan592]

12. Never claimed it wasn't a learning experience.

Just not all learning experiences should be accompanied by public school credits.

[Goblinmonger]

16. This is the teacher in me speaking not the atheist.

I worry about the credentials of the teachers. The teachers that teach at the public school have pretty strict licensing (and background) requirements and need to be licensed in their subject area. I hope there is some level of the same before they count this credit as comparable to, say, an American Lit class taught by an English teacher. I'm not saying they necessarily need to be licensed in the state (though that would be optimum) but they have to have some sort of something that qualifies them to teach and it's not just some asshat teaching how great Jesus is.

The atheist in me would want to offer a class on Bertrand Russel, Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and see if that gets the same loving embrace.

[rug]

18. It passed the Court of Appeals because the program was supervised by a private accredited school.

If this video is any measure, the Oakbrook Preparatory School, the accredited private Christian school which approved this program, should have its own accreditation examined.

"Accreditation: Oakbrook is an accredited member of the South Carolina Independent School Association. All staff members meet association requirements for teaching children. (Additional information: South Carolina Independent School Association www.scisa.org)"

http://www.oakbrookprep.org/facts.htm

[eqfan592]

8. I would tend to agree.

Though I would like to know more about what specifically was being taught. I know it says it was a "Christian World View" class, but was the class structured as a "our world view is the correct one" class, or a "this is the world view of various Christians around the world," and treated in more of a sociological manner?

[rug]

11. Here's some info on it.

It's dismal.

[eqfan592]

13. Thanks.

After watching this video, I find the courts ruling to be completely baffling. This is clearly not a class that should be granted academic credit at a public school. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

[aka-chmeee]

14. Total agreement with your assessment,

I was headed to their web site to tell them I thought the program was child abuse... Got message the account has been suspended.

[Leontius]

15. This is not what I would consider appropriate for

a public school system to do. I don't think time off for religious instruction should be done in the public school system anyway so offering credit for the classes just doubles the problem as I see it.

[eqfan592]

17. Holy hell in a hand-basket...

...we agree on something in the Religion forum. Never thought I'd see the day come! lol

Seriously tho, I don't have a huge issue with the time off, assuming the time off is taken in lieu of a study hall or homeroom period. But giving public school credits for religious instruction does not seem even remotely appropriate too me.