November 24, 2004
Declaration of Independence Censored?
Via Drudge, Reuters reports on a lawsuit by a fifth-grade teacher in Cupertino, California who says he has been barred from teaching his students about this country's founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence:
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence.
Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in the San Francisco Bay area suburb of Cupertino, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian.
"It's a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful," said Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson.
"Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country," he said. "There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence."
Shocking, if true. As a lawyer, however, I should note that most allegations asserted in pleadings are untrue. So news reports based on what someone has stated in a legal complaint should always be taken with a huge grain of salt. Still, the Trunk has been saying for a while that it is only a matter of time until the Constitution is held to be unconstitutional. The Declaration will presumably bite the dust first.
UPDATE by BIG TRUNK: Our friends at The Remedy have more here and here.
Posted by John at 11:00 PM |

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» Can You Believe This? from Young Pundits
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It gets worse.
http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6911883
You can't show students the Declaration of Independence in the United States anymore? Wow. Just wow.
Info on the school...
(follow link to get conta... [Read More]
Tracked on November 25, 2004 12:21 AM
» Declaration of Independence Banned at California School from RANDOM THOUGHTS on Politics
Looking for the real skinny on the Reuters story on how the nasty California liberals are trying to ban the Declaration of Independence from schools? Mike Lane from At Ease has posted a solid, link-filled, fact-based post on the PBA [Read More]
Tracked on November 25, 2004 07:03 AM
» Seeing Red in a Blue State... from doctorzhibloggo
A principal at a Cupertino, CA school has ordered a teacher to stop using the Declaration of Independence in his curriculum. Via Drudge, you can read the complaint here. [Read More]
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» Nothing sacred from joannejacobs.com
A fifth-grade teacher in California claims he was told not to give students "documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence." From Reuters: Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek Elementa... [Read More]
Tracked on November 26, 2004 12:51 AM
» Declaration Of Independence Banned from CALIFORNIA YANKEE
Reuters reports that Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in Cupertino, California, has been barred from giving students historical American documents that refer to God, including the Declaration of Independence. Williams, sue... [Read More]
Tracked on November 26, 2004 05:20 PM
» Declaration of Independence Banned from Pajama Hadin
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence. Reuters
This is nothing short of censorship and an attempt at anti-religious revi... [Read More]
Tracked on November 27, 2004 12:08 AM
» Reactions to Banning the Declaration of Independence from rightpundit.com
The California school's efforts to prohibit a teacher from passing out copies of the Declaration of Independence and other historical documents to his students is, as one would expect, getting quiet the treatment in the blogosphere. California Yank... [Read More]
Tracked on November 27, 2004 12:41 AM
» Declaration of Independence Banned at California School from RANDOM THOUGHTS on Politics
Looking for the real skinny on the Reuters story on how the nasty California liberals are trying to ban the Declaration of Independence from schools? Mike Lane from At Ease has posted a solid, link-filled, fact-based post on the PBA [Read More]
Tracked on December 11, 2004 12:33 AM