Evolution stickers ruled unconstitutional

[Tom Sawyer]

A school district here in GA has just been ordred to take all these stupid little stickers off of biology textbooks saying that evolution isn't proven:

Evolution Stickers Ordered Removed (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/0105/13evolution.html)

It's nice to know there are still a few sane people in this country

[joedad]

The Inquisition is alive and well.

Thanks for the link.

[EverLastingGodStopper]

Mod note, I changed the title of the thread to prevent duplicate posts on this topic.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/13/evolution.textbooks.ruling/
Judge: Evolution stickers unconstitutional
Markers in science textbooks violated church-state separation

Thursday, January 13, 2005 Posted: 12:22 PM EST (1722 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled that a suburban county school district's textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional.

In ruling that the stickers violate the constitutionally mandated separation between church and state, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that labeling evolution a "theory" played on the popular definition of the word as a "hunch" and could confuse students.
...

The sticker, he said, sends "a message that the school board agrees with the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists and creationists."

"The school board has effectively improperly entangled itself with religion by appearing to take a position," Cooper wrote. "Therefore, the sticker must be removed from all of the textbooks into which it has been placed."

Five parents of students and the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the stickers in court, arguing they violated the constitutional separation of church and state. ...
The original thread title said, "score one for the good guys." I'm just glad to see that the Constitution is still intact.

[woodheart]

Thank that sane Judge who knows how to use a dictionary. :)

[Angrillori]

Excellent. I needed some good news today!

[Stephen Maturin]

Judge Cooper's opinion is available for download here (http://alt.cimedia.com/ajc/pdf/evolution.pdf) (PDF, 44 pages). I've only given it a high-speed, low-altitude look, but it appears the judge found the school board policy unconstitutional under the second prong of the Lemon test. The judge also ruled that the stickers violate a provision of the Georgia Constitution mandating that "[n]o money shall ever be taken from the public treasury, directly or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination or of any sectarian institution."

[Hazel-rah]

Oooooh... the AJC blog (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/custom/blogs/education/entries/2005/01/13/evolution_a_sticky_situation_in_cobb.html) is getting real ugly...

[pug846]

If you’re interested, you can read the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law here (http://www.gand.uscourts.gov/documents/02cv2325ord..pdf). The conclusions of law begin on page 17.

The court held that while the Cobb County school board had a secular purpose in placing the sticker in the textbook—“to further critical thinking�—the sticker is unconstitional because it offends the effects prong of the modified two-pronged lemon test followed by the Eleventh, Second, Third, and Fourth circuits:

In this case, the Court believes that an informed, reasonable observer would interpret the Sticker to convey a message of endorsement of religion. That is, the Sticker sends a message to those who oppose evolution for religious reasons that they are favored members of the political community, while the Sticker sends a message to those who believe in evolution that they are political outsiders. This is particularly so in a case such as this one involving impressionable public school students who are likely to view the message on the Sticker as a union of church and state. Given that courts should be "particularly vigilant in monitoring compliance with the Establishment Clause in elementary and secondary schools," the Court is of the opinion that the Sticker must be declared unconstitutional.

Members of certain religious denominations historically have opposed the teaching of evolution in public schools. As early as the 1920s and continuing into the late 1960s, the judicial system was resolving challenges to anti-evolution statutes, which made it criminal to teach evolution in school. The Supreme Court declared such statutes unconstitutional. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a movement by anti-evolutionists to have creationism taught alongside evolution. However, the Supreme Court held in Edwards that the teaching of creation science in public schools would constitute an establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment. Most recently, the judicial system has witnessed efforts by ant-evolutionists motivated by religion to discredit or disclaim the theory of evolution.

Just as citizens around the country have been aware of the historical debate between evolution and religion, an informed, reasonable observer in this case would be keenly aware of the sequence of events that preceded the adoption of the Sticker. Specifically, the informed, reasonable observer would know that a significant number of Cobb Country citizens had voiced opposition to the teaching of evolution for religious reasons. The informed, reasonable observer would also know that despite this opposition, the Cobb County School District was in the process of revising its policy and regulation regarding theories of origin to reflect that evolution would be taught in Cobb County schools. Further, the informed, reasonable observer would be aware that citizens and parents largely motivated by religion put pressure on the School Board to implement certain measures that would nevertheless dilute the teaching of evolution, including placing a disclaimer in the front of certain textbooks that distinguished evolution as a theory, not a fact. Finally, the informed, reasonable observer would be aware that the language of the Sucker essentially mirrors the viewpoint of these religiously-motivated citizens.

(internal citations omitted).

[Albion]

Well, if the purpose of those stickers really was to further critical thinking, I'll be surprised. But since that's what the stickers actually say, I suppose it's a bit hard to claim otherwise in court.

[RufusAtticus]

Don't forget that the Judge found that the stickers undermined biology education, in a way that placated sectarian beliefs. The board might have wanted to foster critical thinking, but the judge found that they didn't. This type of fact finding cannot be easily appealed, and will help the plaintiff's case if this goes further up.

[eudaimonia]

>>Perhaps the Harry Potter books will be permitted in the school libraries, but not without a sticker inside the cover: “Warning: Reading this book may result in demon possession and full cranial revolutions.� Perhaps we will witness a burgeoning book warning sticker industry that offers cautionary advice on the works of everyone from Tolkien (“Warning: This book is a work of fantasy.�) to Twain (“Warning: This book uses the “N� word�). Or perhaps “sticker wars� will break out. Unable to remove the anti-evolution stickers from the texts, the opposition lobbies for anti-sticker stickers: “Warning: The sticker below has been put here by people with an extreme right-wing agenda. Please think critically about the warning contained therein.� It escalates from there, as the original group heads to press with yet a third sticker.<<

[Xulfer Cirtsag]

Oooooh... the AJC blog (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/custom/blogs/education/entries/2005/01/13/evolution_a_sticky_situation_in_cobb.html) is getting real ugly...

Wow, I don't know if I've ever seen so many logical fallacies on one page, with commands for people to read the AnswersInGenesis website.