Running head: ARTIFACT #6 1

Artifact #6; The Case of Karen White

Courtney Lichtenwalner
College of Southern Nevada
ARTIFACT #6 2

ABSTRACT
The case of Karen White, a non-tenured Kindergarten teacher, is pertaining to her religion

and beliefs of whether or not she will teach the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as other national

holidays to her students. The principal, Bill Ward, dismisses her based on this information stating

that she will not be able to do her job thoroughly by excluding this material from her students. In

the end, Ward is found to be correct in dismissing White and that decision is upheld in Court.
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Artifact #6; The Case of Karen White

In the case of Karen White, a non-tenured Kindergarten teacher, who happens to be of the

Jehovahs Witness faith, makes the choice not to lead or participate in certain activities and/or

projects that could be seen as religious in nature. These activities and projects include: decorating

her classroom for the holidays, planning gift exchanges during the Christmas season, singing

Happy Birthday, or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Upon hearing this information, the

parents of Whites students were strongly in disagreement and professed their disagreement with

Principal Bill Ward. Ward did not agree with Whites decisions either and therefore

recommended her for dismissal based on her ineffectively meeting the needs of her students.

White has since chosen to file suit against Ward and the school for being wrongfully dismissed.
This case has a number of Amendments and Clauses that are important to list. First, is the

Establishment Clause. There are several different parts of this clause that can pertain to this case.

According to McCabe, McCarthy, and Eckes (2014), The First Amendments Establishment

Clause is used primarily to challenge governmental advancement of religion The first major

case where the Establishment Clause came into play was, Everson v. Board of Education. In this

case it was determined that the Establishment Clause, along with the Fourteenth Amendment,

means, In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was

intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state. (McCabe, McCarthy, & Eckes.

2014. p. 41). Due to another case, Lemon v. Kurtzman, the Supreme Court created the Lemon

Test, which consists of three questions assessing the Establishment Clauses claims. Another

source that can be cited in this case is due process for the teacher being dismissed. A teacher is

entitled to procedural due process if termination of employment impairs a property or liberty

interest. (McCabe, McCarthy, & Eckes. 2014. p. 285). White was a non-tenured teacher and
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therefore does not hold property interest within the school; however, she is still entitled to due

process.
The first case that Karen White would like to cite is, Abington v Schempp. In this case,

students in a Pennsylvania school were required to read at least ten verses from the Bible daily

and then recite the Lords Prayer. There were times when students could be excused from doing

so by having a written note from their parents stating their exemption. Edward Lewis Schempp

chose to sue the school district claiming it was a violation of rights. The Court found that these

daily activities were seen as religious in nature and therefore did violate the Establishment

Clause of the First Amendment, therefore even the students who were exempt from doing these

readings were still having their rights violated. (Abington v. Schempp. 2015.) White would like

to point out that while the district does not require her to teach her students the bible directly,

certain holidays, such as Christmas are biblical in nature. Therefore, this would encroach upon

her beliefs as a Jehovahs Witness and would violate her First Amendment rights as well.
The second case that White would like to cite is, West Virginia State Board of Education

v. Barnette. In this case, all students were required to salute the flag and say the Pledge of

Allegiance. A group of Jehovahs Witness students were not in favor of doing so stating that it

was against their First Amendment rights, as well as their religious beliefs. Upon going to Court,

it was decided that the school as indeed infringing on the students freedom of religion and

speech by requiring them to say the Pledge of Allegiance and therefore, the students won their

case. (First Amendment Schools. 2015.) White states that although students won this case in

particular, there is no reason that it should not apply to the teachers as well. If she makes the

decision not to say the Pledge of Allegiance, that should be her choice under her First

Amendment rights.
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Principal Bill Ward is strongly standing by his decision to place Ms. White up for

dismissal based on his not believing that she is willing to teach proper material to her students

due to her strong religious beliefs. The first case that he would like to cite is, Florey v. Sioux

Falls. This case is a little older and took place in 1970s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school

board began to question how they would handle the holiday season and what could be considered

religious material. The board came to the conclusion that they could display religious symbols as

part of classroom instruction, as well as hold public performances of religious music, dramas,

and poetry if it was part of the educational curriculum. A parent, and professed atheist, Roger

Florey did not agree with this. He stated his constitutional rights had been violated. He mostly

disagreed with the Christmas carols. In the end, Florey lost his case. What this decision means

is that public schools are permitted to make extensive use of religious material during religious

holidays of the administrators' choosing without violating the separation of church and state. So

long as the school can claim to be working for the purpose of educating students about the

religious and historical heritage of the holiday - even if it is their own holiday which they know

well - there is no constitutional problem. (Cline, A. 2015.) Ward would like to compare this case

to Florey v. Sioux Falls because the information that White would be require to teach would fall

under this category. The material is not overtly religious, and does not even include Christmas

carols. The material is cut and dry regarding teaching the students about the basics of holidays

and American history/tradition. This would not violate her rights, however, would make it

impossible to do her job correctly and thoroughly if she does not agree to teaching the

curriculum.

The second case that Ward would like to cite is, Palmer v. Board of Education. Ward

recognizes how similar these two cases actually are to one another. In Palmer, she is also a
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Jehovahs Witness that chooses not to say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing patriotic songs, or

celebrate certain national holidays and therefore refuses to teach them to her students as well.

She is subsequently dismissed, and was also a non-tenured teacher. In that case, the Court

decided that her due process rights were violated because she was not granted a hearing upon her

dismissal; she was not doing her job as a teacher. in seeking to conduct herself in accordance

with her religious beliefs neglects to consider the impact on her students who are not members of

her faith. Because of her religious beliefs, plaintiff would deprive her students of an elementary

knowledge and appreciation of our national heritage. (Palmer v. Board of Education. 2015.)

Therefore, Ward states that with White refusing to teach certain aspects of the overall curriculum,

she cannot do her job and therefore should no longer be a teacher within that school district.

In conclusion, in the case of Karen White, her dismissal is upheld and she is to be

terminated from her position. Even though she does have a right to express herself and her

religious beliefs, she does not have a right to withholding educational knowledge from students

such as teaching national and/or patriotic history. Also, per McCabe, McCarthy, and Eckes

(2014), Public school educators enjoy a constitutional right to their religious beliefs, but they do

not have the right to freely express those beliefs to their students Courts have upheld teacher

dismissal Therefore by her choosing to ignore certain parts of the curriculum, she is imposing

her beliefs onto her students and that cannot be allowed.

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References

603 F. 2d 1271 - Palmer v. Board of Education of City of Chicago. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16,

2015.

Abington v. Schempp. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2015.

Cline, A. (n.d.). Court Decision - Florey v. Sioux Falls School District. Retrieved October 16,

2015.

First Amendment Schools: The Five Freedoms - Court Case. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2015.

McCabe, N., & McCarthy, M. (2014). Church/State Relations. In Legal rights of teachers and

students (2nd ed., p. 41). Boston: Pearson Education.

McCabe, N., & McCarthy, M. (2014). Church/State Relations. In Legal rights of teachers and

students (2nd ed., p. 50). Boston: Pearson Education.

McCabe, N., & McCarthy, M. (2014). Termination of Employment. In Legal rights of teachers

and students (2nd ed., p. 285). Boston: Pearson Education.