Deer Valley school board member plans more Bible quotes

Christian nationalist board member Kim Fisher has posted on social media that she plans on quoting the Bible at the 10/10 Governing Board meeting. This comes on the heels of a Peoria Unified School District board member suing that district over allegedly being told to refrain from doing so. Our attorneys believe we will see a flood of such prayers in coming weeks, as Christian nationalists are likely seeking a Supreme Court ruling to overturn constitutional law banning prayer at school events.

Constituents are urged to attend the 10/10 school board meeting 6PM at 20402 N. 15th Avenue, Phoenix. Wear clothing identifying your support for separation of church and state (or related cause) and speak against unconstitutional religious proselytizing. 

Peoria school board candidate ignores district rules for candidacy 

Maricopa County Education Service Agency has completed most of the initial interviews for the candidates to fill the seat of former Peoria Unified School District board member Rebecca Hill. Former Mark Brnovich campaign manager Brandon Urness (currently working as the Peoria Mayor’s chief of staff) is attempting to exploit a technicality in state law allowing him to submit after the deadline and skip large parts of the application process.

The rest of the candidates under consideration followed rules set by the school district, which required candidates send a packet by August 28^th containing a resume and/or letter of interest; proof of one-year residency; proof of voter registration; and notarized affidavit attesting to qualifications for office.

Urness chose not to follow any of these district rules, and instead submitted his application directly to the Maricopa County Education Service Agency (MCESA). He did so a week and a half after the district’s deadline, submitting only a letter of interest. However, since he submitted to MCESA rather than the district, he is being permitted to be considered alongside the other candidates.

Constituents who see issues with this are encouraged to contact Superintendent Steve Watson (superintendent@maricopa.gov), who will choose the new board member.

Bathrooms, hate speech at Scottsdale Unified

As reported by Scottsdale Freedom To Learn:

Boardmember Werner presented her "bathroom policy" for a first read. The policy enables any student to request access to use a single stall restroom. Besides the nurse's office, these facilities exist only in areas limited to adult access or open to the public. When pressed by Boardmember Hart-Wells on why this policy is needed, Boardmember Werner said, because it is, and claimed that SUSD General Counsel, Mr. Buzan, agrees with her. In an awkward rebuttal, Mr. Buzan said he did not say that. Boardmember Hart-Wells also corrected Boardmember Werner's claim that providing access to single stall restrooms would have no additional cost. Building Services Director Dennis Roehler explained there would be an expense to retrofit the doors with a "vacant/occupied" lock, which is standard for existing restrooms that the public has access to and encouraged for these restrooms that students and adults would be sharing. Boardmember Cieniawski's statement boiled down to "this is a solution in search of a problem" and Boardmember Carney gave her support for the policy. Given the infeasibility of this plan and Boardmembers Carney and Werner's tendency to embrace culture war issues, their motivation for pushing this plan is questionable. The board will vote on this at a future meeting.

Public Comment continues to include vile and misleading statements from a handful of repeat speakers, cheered on by a dozen regular attendees that share their fringe beliefs. 

It is in stark contrast to the maturity and thoughtfulness of this high school senior who spoke up against the targeting of teachers with false accusations.

Know your rights: religious freedom in public schools

Public schools are required to be secular institutions. Because public schools are funded by taxpayers and because children are more impressionable than adults, these schools have a special obligation not to infringe on the religious rights of their students, parents, and teachers. But what are those rights? Can coaches pray at games or not? Can teachers talk about religion in class? Can students have bible club on campus?

National Legal Updates

Our legal team is watching Freedom of Religion cases from all around the US! Here’s what’s been going on:

Victories:

• A federal judge in West Virginia ruled in favor of an incarcerated atheist who was required to complete a religious substance abuse treatment program in order to be eligible for parole. The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation is enjoined from compelling Andrew Miller’s participation in religious programming while the case goes forward. The judge found that this requirement likely violated Mr. Miller’s rights under the establishment clause and the free exercise clause.
• In North Carolina, a home repair company settled a lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of two employees who were fired for refusing to attend required “cult-like” prayer meetings. Aurora Pro Services will have to pay $50,000 to settle the religious harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claim.
• The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that a Jewish couple has standing to challenge a Tennessee law that allows private child-placing agencies that receive state funding to deny services based on religious beliefs. The couple had been denied the chance to adopt a child solely because of their religion.
• The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that a man had standing to sue the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix for sexual abuse he experienced as a child. The trial court originally dismissed the complaint for not alleging sufficient facts demonstrating that the Church had actual knowledge or should have known that the complainant was being abused by his priest. The suit against the Church for their negligence in supervising and retaining the priest can now go forward.

Things to Watch:

• The Archdiocese of Denver has sued Colorado over a new universal preschool funding law. The Archdiocese claims that the law violates the rights of the Catholic Church because preschools that discriminate against LGBTQ parents, staff, and children cannot receive the funding. They will be relying on the Carson v. Makin case saying if you give vouchers to schools, you have to give to religious schools.

Updates courtesy of Secular AZ Legal Fellow Adriana Clark. 

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