Smith v. Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of School Comm’rs

The Jefferson County, Tennessee, school board, facing a budget shortfall, abolished its alternative school and contracted for its students to be educated in a program at a private, Christian school (Kingswood). The County students were exclusively within Kingswood’s day program, which did not feature deliberate religious instruction and has been recognized by the Tennessee Senate as a model alternative-school program. They were taught by state-licensed teachers and regularly met with licensed counselors. The school building did not include any religious symbols or messages. Day students were not required to pray, observe a “moment of silence,” or engage in any religious or spiritual activity. Students were required to submit a weekly form—signed by parents—that contained a quote from the Gospel of Luke: “Jesus . . . said, Suffer little children to come unto me….” Report cards contained the same Biblical text. The Kingswood website and newsletter contained some religious references. No County student or parent complained about any of Kingswood’s religious references. Teachers who lost their jobs in the abolition of the original alternative school sued, asserting an Establishment Clause violation. The district court awarded damages and an injunction. The Sixth Circuit reversed, finding that the action involved a secular legislative purpose, did not give rise to a governmental endorsement of religion, and did not entail an excessive entanglement between the government and religion. View "Smith v. Jefferson Cnty. Bd. of School Comm'rs" on Justia Law