Jesus school essay sparks federal suit

Tribune-Chronicle ^ | 7/2/02 | RON SELAK

[CFW]

YOUNGSTOWN - A Masury woman who claims her son was denied the right to write about Jesus is suing the Brookfield School District for $1.5 million.

Peggy E. Koehler also is asking for the school district to declare that Jesus was a person about whom her son, Phillip M. Vaccaro, 14, could write an essay. The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Youngstown by attorney Mark Steven Colucci.

According to the suit, Vaccaro was given an assignment to write an essay about someone who positively changed or influenced his life. Vaccaro wrote about Jesus, and a teacher in the arts and language class told the boy to pick another person, according to the suit.

Vaccaro is an educationally challenged boy who used his faith to conquer daily struggles at school, the suit states. The middle-school student chose Jesus as the person ''who most influenced his life,'' but the suit states the teacher cautioned him that Jesus was not a real person and instructed him to select another topic.

The suit also claims that Koehler contacted school administrators who backed the teacher's decision. Messages seeking comment from Board of Education members regarding the lawsuit were not returned Monday evening.

Colucci said the incident occurred in the spring before school let out for summer vacation.

According to the suit, Vaccaro missed school and sought medical attention for depression and other medical issues related to the incident.

Besides the First Amendment violation, the suit also alleges Koehler lost her son's love and companionship.

Colucci said the district doesn't ''have a prayer'' of winning the suit. He maintains the nation was founded upon ''Judeo-Christian principles'' and that a recent federal ruling in California that found the words ''under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance at school is unconstitutional is flawed.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Dan Polster.

[kinsman redeemer]

The kid next to him wrote about Ozzie Ozborne (sp??) and got a gold star!

The one behind him wrote about Homer Simpson's positive influence in his life and got an A++!

[Dimensio]

Colucci said the district doesn't ''have a prayer'' of winning the suit. He maintains the nation was founded upon ''Judeo-Christian principles'' and that a recent federal ruling in California that found the words ''under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance at school is unconstitutional is flawed.

Not that I'm going to side with the district in this case, but would Colucci be willing to defend someone who used Buddha as the subject?

[AppyPappy]

but would Colucci be willing to defend someone who used Buddha as the subject?

Absence of evidence is not evidence. The question should be "Should a child be allowed to write about Buddha?". The answer is "Of course".

[mhking]

Brookfield Local School District
P.O. Box 209
Brookfield, OH 44403

Phone: (330) 448-4930
Fax: (330) 448-5026

Web: http://www.brookfield.k12.oh.us/

[Khepera]

He will not have to. Nobody choose to write about Buddha. Who is he anyway?

[Nachum]

The young athiest wrote:

Jesus was a nice man who thought he was god.

[DeFault User]

...the suit states the teacher cautioned him that Jesus was not a real person and instructed him to select another topic.

Charitably speaking, the teacher must be a victim of a public school education. Such ignorance and intolerance should disqualify the teacher from holding a position in any school system.

[stands2reason]

But the teacher knows Buddha was a real person...You're not that dim to actually believe that A child would be forbidden to write about Buddha, would you?

[kever]

For a religious person - Isn't this a little on the money hungry greedy side?

[Pete]

The middle-school student chose Jesus as the person ''who most influenced his life,'' but the suit states the teacher cautioned him that Jesus was not a real person and instructed him to select another topic.

The teacher needs to get up to speed. The debate among serious scholars has moved way beyond whether the Jesus of the New Testament was an actual person or not - he was.

[Dimensio]

When I speak of Buddha I am referring to the spiritual teacher Siddhartha Guatama, whose teachings are the foundation of Buddhism: the belief that the ultimate "goal" of existence is to cast away all desire.

My question was based on Colluci's "defense" of claiming that "the nation was founded upon ''Judeo-Christian principles''". Now I won't argue over the validity of his comment, but it isn't clear if he is using that to defend a student writing about Jesus specifically or if he is implying that Judeo-Christian principles would allow a student to write about anyone they chose, including people who are considered religious figures.

[Dimensio]

Why would I be "dim" to speculate on a public school teacher engaging in a blatantly discriminatory and stupid act?

[roberbaran]

> Not that I'm going to side with the district in this case, but would Colucci be willing to defend someone who used Buddha as the subject?

Interesting question. A more interesting one is, if the student HAD written about Bhudda, would the teacher and district's actions been the same? If so, then the suit is probably doomed to failure. As long as the district is non-discriminatory in it's use of the policy (i.e., no one may write essays about any deity-figures), then they are in fine shape.

IF, on the other hand, they single out Jesus essays but let other religious essays through, then they are in trouble under the overbreadth doctrine used by the Supreme Court in similar cases of defining a practice too broadly.

[RonF]

Colluci's comment is immaterial and meaningless to this case. However, the teacher is a dufus. On what basis does the teacher make the judgement that Jesus wasn't a real person? Certainly, 100's of millions of people in the world believe He was. How can she prove He wasn't?

[stars & stripes forever]

I would suggest that the teacher read "The Case for Christ" by Lee Stobel. She'll discover that Jesus exists yesterday, today, and forever. Give the kid an A+.

[Dimensio]

Give the kid an A+.

I would prefer that the paper be judged on its content and style rather than the subject matter. Or have you already seen it?

[rhema]

. . .the suit states the teacher cautioned him that Jesus was not a real person and instructed him to select another topic.

The suit also claims that Koehler contacted school administrators who backed the teacher's decision.

The real Jesus (yes, Virginia, there really is a Jesus) couldn't have said it better: ". . .they are blind guides of the blind." [Matt. 15:14]

[SarahW]

To get policy to change they must be punished in the courts.