Press release: Rutherford Institute asks Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider ruling, focus on academic freedom issue in case of Christian teacher fired over evolution

The following press release was provided by The Rutherford Institute:

COLUMBUS, Ohio— Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a motion in Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. Of Edn. asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling upholding a school district’s decision to terminate a middle school science teacher who encouraged students to think critically about the school’s science curriculum.

On November 19, the Ohio Supreme Court handed down a 4-3 decision in Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. Of Edn. which upheld the termination of John Freshwater, a Christian with a 20-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, despite a vocal dissent defending Freshwater’s right to academic freedom and insisting that his teaching methods are protected by the Constitution. The majority based their ruling of insubordination on the fact that Freshwater failed to remove from his classroom a poster depicting George W. Bush and Colin Powell, which he got from the school’s office, and an Oxford Bible and a book titled Jesus of Nazareth, both of which he checked out from the school library. In asking the court to reconsider the constitutional issues at play in the case, Rutherford Institute attorneys argue that the charge of “insubordination” against Freshwater is specious considering his “good-faith efforts to comply with vague, conflicting, partially illegal administrative directives.”

“This case speaks to an ongoing debate in America over whether we want schools that will teach young people to think analytically, critically and for themselves, or schools that will merely teach young people to parrot back what they are told,” stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “It’s our hope that the Ohio Supreme Court will agree to reconsider this case and, in so doing, recognize that the future of this nation rests with the schools and their employees and the kind of citizen they churn out—either individuals who understand how to exercise their rights, or ones who view the Constitution as an antiquated relic of a bygone age.”

In June 2008, the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education voted to suspend John Freshwater, a Christian with a 20-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater to remove “all religious items” from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, a patriotic poster of Bush and Powell with a Bible verse, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Nevertheless, school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and using unapproved materials to facilitate classroom discussion of origins of life theories.

A Common Pleas judge upheld the School Board’s decision, as did the Fifth District Court of Appeals, without analyzing Freshwater’s constitutional claims to academic freedom. Likewise, the Ohio Supreme Court sidestepped the question as to whether Freshwater has a First Amendment right to include materials critical of evolution in his class. However, the Court did rule that Freshwater was not insubordinate for failing to remove his personal Bible from his desk because he was entitled to keep the Bible under the First Amendment’s guarantee to free exercise of religion.

Affiliate attorney Rita Dunaway is assisting The Rutherford Institute with Freshwater’s defense.

Related documents

John Freshwater’s motion for reconsideration, November 26, 2013 (PDF)

Minority opinion: Reinstate Freshwater (Justice Terrence O’Donnell, with Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Sharon L. Kennedy concurring)

Justice Pfeifer: ‘In a case bounding with arrogance and cowardice, the lead opinion fits right in.’ (Justice Paul E. Pfeifer)

Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. of Edn., Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-5000 (PDF)

Previous coverage

Editorial: Ohio Supreme Court decision shirks sworn duties

 

Document dump: School board and cohorts file briefs in Freshwater case

Freshwater responds to school board’s arguments

Student was not burned, according to medical expert

School board votes 4-1 to fire Freshwater

See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

UPDATE

On December 6, 2013, the Mount Vernon Board of Education filed a memo in opposition to the motion for reconsideration. (See here for a PDF copy.)

On January 22, 2014, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its ruling on the motion for reconsideration. The court ruled 4-3 to deny the motion.

The majority did not provide a written opinion.

Justice Terrence O’Donnell wrote a dissenting opinion, with Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Sharon L. Kennedy concurring.

The dissent criticized the majority for “bypassing […] important constitutional issues and ignoring the defenses interposed by John Freshwater.”

O’Donnell concluded by saying, “I encourage reconsideration and further review of these important issues.”

(See here for a PDF copy of the ruling and the dissent.)

Editorial: Ohio Supreme Court decision shirks sworn duties

In a 4-3 vote the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the firing of John Freshwater. Apparently black robes are good for hiding yellow streaks.

Dissenting Justice Paul E. Pfeifer wrote, “In a case bounding with arrogance and cowardice, the lead opinion fits right in.”

It is the sworn duty of the justices to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Ohio. That duty is not fulfilled when the majority justices hide behind superficial excuses to avoid rendering support for rights they don’t like:

 “Courts sometimes don't want to rule on controversial legal questions, especially when doing so might force them to rule in favor of viewpoints they find distasteful, like the rights of teachers to teach scientific critique of evolution. As a result, you see narrow, hair-splitting, fact-intensive rulings like this one which do everything they can to settle the case on other issues, and avoid any explicit finding that it might be legal to critique Darwin.”

—Casey Luskin, “In the Freshwater Case, the Ohio Supreme Court Dodges Ruling on Academic Freedom to Critique Darwinian Evolution” (Evolution News and Views)

Those other issues the court used to settle the case were Freshwater having in his classroom a George W. Bush poster and two religious books from the school’s library.

Not exactly fireable offenses. Unless, of course, you count breaking ad hoc rules that exist only in the imagination of the people making the firing decision.

For the justices to grasp at these items as the basis of their decision shows how desperate they were. They had already recognized that Freshwater’s personal Bible was off limits as a basis for the firing. Now they needed something. Anything. The best they could find was a poster of a president and a couple library books.

And with that the majority opinion claimed to have solved the case: The items in Freshwater’s classroom provided sufficient grounds for firing him. Therefore the court did not need to touch the issue of whether it is legal to critique evolution.

What a relief for them. Had they needed to address the evolution issue they would have run into a sticky problem: Freshwater’s teaching methodology had been authorized by the school’s written policies and guidelines.

(See Policy and Guideline 2240 - Controversial Issues; Policy and Guideline 2270 - Religion in the Curriculum; and Policy 3218 - Academic Freedom of Teachers.)

Of particular relevance is policy 3218 which not only is titled Academic Freedom of Teachers, but also says, “The freedom to speak and share ideas is an inherent precept of a democratic society governed by the will of the majority. Teachers and students need to be free to discuss and debate ideas.”

The four majority justices, and I use that term loosely when applied to them, could have used this case as an opportunity to assure Ohioans that they can count on their courts to have the courage to uphold the law.

Instead, we’re left wondering if a dystopian novel somewhere is missing four characters: Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, Justice Judith L. French and Justice William M. O'Neill.

Related documents

Minority opinion: Reinstate Freshwater (Justice Terrence O’Donnell, with Justices Paul E. Pfeifer and Sharon L. Kennedy concurring)

Justice Pfeifer: ‘In a case bounding with arrogance and cowardice, the lead opinion fits right in.’ (Justice Paul E. Pfeifer)

Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. of Edn., Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-5000 (PDF)

Previous coverage

“Document dump: School board and cohorts file briefs in Freshwater case”

“Freshwater responds to school board’s arguments”

“Student was not burned, according to medical expert”

“School board votes 4-1 to fire Freshwater”

See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

Press release: Ohio Supreme Court affirms science teacher’s right to keep personal Bible on desk, sidesteps issue of academic freedom in firing over evolution lessons

The following press release was provided by The Rutherford Institute:

COLUMBUS, Ohio—In a mixed ruling that affirms the First Amendment right of a public school teacher to keep a personal Bible on his desk, while sidestepping larger questions of academic freedom, the Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a school district’s decision to terminate a middle school science teacher who encouraged students to think critically about the school’s science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories, on the grounds that there was sufficient evidence to support the school’s charge of “insubordination” against the teacher.

The 4-3 decision in Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. Of Edn. upheld the termination of John Freshwater, a Christian with a 20-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, despite a vocal dissent defending Freshwater’s right to academic freedom and insisting that his teaching methods are protected by the Constitution. The majority based their ruling of insubordination on the fact that Freshwater failed to remove from his classroom a poster depicting George Bush and Colin Powell, which he got from the school’s office and an Oxford Bible, and a book titled Jesus of Nazareth, both of which he checked out from the school library.

In coming to Freshwater’s defense after he was discharged in January 2011, Rutherford Institute attorneys argued that where a teacher’s speech is in compliance with all Board policies and directly relates to the prescribed curriculum, the school should not be permitted to terminate the teacher’s employment as a means of censoring a particular academic viewpoint from the classroom. Institute attorneys plan to file a motion to ask the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider their opinion in order to focus on the constitutional issues at the heart of the case, particularly as they relate to academic freedom in the classroom.

“School officials should stop talking about the need for young people to learn about the Constitution and start putting those principles into practice by creating a robust environment in the classroom where free speech can flourish and thrive,” stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “It’s our hope that the Ohio Supreme Court will send a strong message to the nation’s schools that the First Amendment protects both teachers and students, no matter how controversial or politically incorrect the topic under discussion.”

In June 2008, the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education voted to suspend John Freshwater, a Christian with a 20-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater to remove “all religious items” from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, a patriotic poster of Bush and Powell with a Bible verse, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Nevertheless, school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and using unapproved materials to facilitate classroom discussion of origins of life theories.

A Common Pleas judge upheld the School Board’s decision, as did the Fifth District Court of Appeals, without analyzing Freshwater’s constitutional claims to academic freedom. Likewise, the Ohio Supreme Court sidestepped the question as to whether Freshwater has a First Amendment right to include materials critical of evolution in his class. However, the Court did rule that Freshwater was not insubordinate for failing to remove his personal Bible from his desk because he was entitled to keep the Bible under the First Amendment’s guarantee to free exercise of religion. Affiliate attorney Rita Dunaway is assisting The Rutherford Institute with Freshwater’s defense.

Additional information

Freshwater v. Mt. Vernon City School Dist. Bd. of Edn.,  Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-5000 (PDF)

“Supreme Court upholds firing of Freshwater in religious-symbols case”  by Darrel Rowland, The Columbus Dispatch

“Court: Freshwater’s termination valid” by Pamela Schehl, Mount Vernon News

Previous coverage

“Document dump: School board and cohorts file briefs in Freshwater case”

“Freshwater responds to school board’s arguments”

See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

Meet the school board candidates Oct 1

There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates for the Mount Vernon Board of Education on October 1 at the Mount Vernon High School Theater at 6:30 p.m.

This event is sponsored by the Ohio Association of Public School Employees and the Mount Vernon Education Association.

For more information, see the KnoxPages article “Candidates night slated for Mount Vernon school board hopefuls.”

The following are the candidates running for the two open seats:

Mary Rugola-Dye

Daniel Hamman

Stephen L. Thompson (incumbent)

Information regarding Rugola-Dye’s candidacy can be found at www.friendsofrugoladye.org.

Also, see here and here for video of Rugola-Dye’s remarks as an audience member during a meet the candidates night in 2011.

UPDATE

For coverage of the event, see the Mount Vernon News article “Candidates discuss views for Mount Vernon schools.”

UPDATE (2013 SCHOOL BOARD RESULTS):

The following are the results for the school board race (there were two open seats on the board):

Stephen L. Thompson 2,874   (39.19%)

Mary C. Rugola-Dye  2,770   (37.77%)

Daniel Hamman 1,689   (23.03%)

The election results are from the Knox County Board of Elections summary report of 8:18 p.m. Nov. 5, 2013.

Podcast: TRI attorney discusses Freshwater case

The following is from a June 24, 2013 post by IDTheFuture.com:

 “On this episode of ID The Future, listen in as Joshua Youngkin and attorney Rita Dunaway of The Rutherford Institute discuss the academic freedom case of John Freshwater, an Ohio middle school science teacher of 24 years. Freshwater was fired after it was revealed that he was teaching both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution in his classroom.”

Ohio Supreme Court hears Freshwater case

The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday regarding John Freshwater’s claim that he was wrongfully terminated from his job teaching at Mount Vernon City Schools.

 
(“Case No. 2012-0613 John Freshwater v. Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education”)

 Additional information 

“Document dump: School board and cohorts file briefs in Freshwater case”

“Freshwater responds to school board’s arguments”

See the articles in the archive for additional coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

UPDATE

See here for an article by Freshwater’s attorney Rita M. Dunaway which gives a behind-the-scenes look into her experience arguing the case before the court.

Press release: Rutherford Institute defends academic freedom of teacher fired for urging students to think critically about evolution

The following press release was provided by The Rutherford Institute:

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio—In oral arguments before the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday, February 27, The Rutherford Institute will defend the right to academic freedom of a science teacher fired for encouraging students to think critically about the school’s science curriculum, particularly as it relates to evolution theories. In coming to veteran science teacher John Freshwater’s defense, Institute attorneys argue that the Mount Vernon City School District violated John Freshwater’s academic freedom rights—and those of his students—by firing him in January 2011. The Institute argues that where a teacher’s speech is in compliance with all Board policies and directly relates to the prescribed curriculum, the school should not be permitted to terminate the teacher’s employment as a means of censoring a particular academic viewpoint from the classroom.

“Academic freedom was once the bedrock of American education. That is no longer the state of affairs, as this case makes clear,” stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “What we need today are more teachers and school administrators who understand that young people don’t need to be indoctrinated. Rather, they need to be taught how to think for themselves. By firing John Freshwater for challenging his students to think outside the box, school officials violated a core First Amendment freedom—the right to debate and express ideas contrary to established views.”

In June 2008, the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education voted to suspend John Freshwater, a Christian with a 20-year teaching career at Mount Vernon Middle School, citing concerns about his conduct and teaching materials, particularly as they related to the teaching of evolution. Earlier that year, school officials reportedly ordered Freshwater, who had served as the faculty appointed facilitator, monitor, and supervisor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes student group for 16 of the 20 years that he taught at Mount Vernon, to remove “all religious items” from his classroom, including a Ten Commandments poster displayed on the door of his classroom, posters with Bible verses, and his personal Bible which he kept on his desk. Freshwater agreed to remove all items except for his Bible. Showing their support for Freshwater, students even organized a rally in his honor. They also wore t-shirts with crosses painted on them to school and carried Bibles to class. School officials were seemingly unswayed by the outpouring of support for Freshwater.

In fact, despite the fact that the Board’s own policy states that because religious traditions vary in their treatment of science, teachers should give unbiased instruction so that students may evaluate it “in accordance with their own religious tenets,” school officials suspended and eventually fired Freshwater, allegedly for criticizing evolution and using unapproved materials to facilitate classroom discussion of origins of life theories. Freshwater appealed the termination in state court, asserting that the school’s actions violated his rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and constituted hostility toward religion. A Common Pleas judge upheld the School Board’s decision, as did the Fifth District Court of Appeals, without analyzing these constitutional claims.

In appealing to the Ohio Supreme Court, Institute attorneys argue that the Board through its actions violated the First Amendment academic freedom rights of both Freshwater and his students. The Board attempted to have the Ohio Supreme Court strike the First Amendment claims from the lawsuit, but was unsuccessful.


Additional information

Press release from Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Public Information: Did Public School Teacher’s Firing for Presenting Religious Doctrine In Science Class Violate His Free Speech Rights?

A thank-you to readers

Four years ago AccountabilityInTheMedia.com was launched to respond to inaccuracies in the media’s coverage of the John Freshwater and Mount Vernon Board of Education controversy.

During the intervening years, I’ve striven to provide alternative news coverage of the ongoing story. 

To all of my readers, thank you for your interest in this project. 

I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of you. I appreciate the encouragement and thanks that you have offered.

Recently, I’ve obtained a job that requires moving out of the country. This change combined with pursuing other writing projects means that I will no longer be providing in-depth coverage of the Freshwater controversy.

I will, however, like many of you, continue to follow the story as the case continues its way through the court system.

Sincerely,

Sam Stickle

MVCS superintendent to retire in June

During Monday’s meeting, the Mount Vernon Board of Education approved the retirement of Steve Short, superintendent of schools, effective June 30, 2013.

In a Jan. 11 letter to the board, Short cited changes in the state retirement system as influencing his decision to retire this year:

Dear Members of the Board of Education,

This is a community that is special to me. We have great staffs, students and administrators. It has been a pleasure to work in this District for 29 of my 31 years in education. 

The change of the State Teachers’ Retirement System benefit packages have impacted my decision on when to retire. I will be retiring effective at the end of the day on June 30, 2013. 

Thank you for your support and encouragement. 

Respectfully, 

Stephen J. Short

According to a Mount Vernon News article, Short’s current salary is $122,000 per year. His retirement will come a year before his contract was set to expire.

Short became superintendent in January 2008. Prior to that, he served a brief period as interim superintendent. He also served in other positions with the district.

The board’s 2009, 2010 and 2011 written evaluations of Short’s performance as superintendent show mostly positive remarks and ratings.

A notable exception had to do with personnel management. In the 2010 performance review, four out of five board members rated Short as needing improvement in the category of maintaining “high, clear and fair standards of performance for all personnel.” 

One board member commented in the review: “I believe Steve, as a person, wants to be fair and consistent. However, the system for which he is responsible lacks consistency, thoroughness, and timeliness.”

The review cited the “handling of John Freshwater and recent administrators’ performance” as “evidence of weakness in this area.”

Short’s retirement was first announced by the district in a Dec. 20 press release. Both the News and KnoxPages.com ran the press release as a news story that same day.

In the press release, Dr. Margie Bennett, president of the board, expressed her appreciation for Short’s years of service with the district:

“We are deeply saddened by Mr. Short’s decision to retire. He has always been a strong proponent of this community and deeply cares about our students and employees. I have the greatest respect for Mr. Short; his decisions evidence wisdom and compassion. He will be sorely missed.”

Additional information:

Press release: Mount Vernon City Schools Superintendent Steve Short to Retire (PDF)

Jan. 11, 2013 letter from Short to board (PDF)

2009 performance evaluation of Short (PDF)

2010 performance evaluation of Short (PDF)

2011 performance evaluation of Short (PDF)